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G^^  miiimiM 

^  3  1833  00096  8450 


Gc  977.201  T4SDE  v. 2 
DeHart,  Richard  P.  1832- 

1918, 
Past  amd  freseht  of- 

Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana 


PAST  AND  PRRSF.NT 


OF 


TIPPECANOE  COUNTY 


INDIANA 


ILLUSTRATED 


VOLUME  II 


B.  F.  BOWEN  &  COMPANY,  PUBLISHERS 
'^'•^    INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA 


1  909 


:21599 


INDEX 


Abdon,    Joseph 751 

Abdon,  Mary  Jane "51 

Alexander,  Robert    903 

Amstutz,   William   A 113:! 

Anderson,  William  H 1076 

Andre,  Adam  W lOGS 

Ankeny,   Charles   Howard 543 

Arnett,    Arett    C 765 

Arnold.  Alba  G 637 

Arthur.   Joseph   Charles 757 

B 

Baer,    Lena   M 1152 

Baird,    Samuel    Probasco 56S 

Baird,   Zebulon    560 

Baker.    Alvin    Cornelius 1046 

Baker,    Edward   Elmore 10S2 

Baker,  Moses    735 

Balentine,    Abram 724 

Ball,  James  D 1070 

Ball,  Cyrus   626 

Bals,   Asa   C 1208 

Balser,    John 829 

Baines,  Thomas  Jefferson 572 

Bartholomew,  John  C 1156 

Bartholomew,    William 1150 

Bart  let  t,  Joseph  Delmar 646 

Bauer,    Thomas 631 

Baugher,   Franklin   George    7G2 

Bausman,   Andrew    1048 

Beaucond,    Joseph    Benjamin 764 

Bennett.  William    823 

Bergquist,  Charles   781 

Blistain,    Joseph 549 

Bohan,  George  W 822 

Born,    Samuel    736 

Boswell.    Edwin 821 

Bradshaw,  Charles  H 591 

Briney,    Alexander 879 

Brockenbrough,    Brown 926 

Brommer,    John    C 1043 


Brown.  Louis 1094 

Bruce,   George   Lawson 662 

Buck,   Milton    1161 

Buck,    Samuel    1134 

Burditt,  Daniel    843 

Burditt,   Nancy    843 

Burkhalter,   William   Henry 1021 

Hurley,  John  F 759 

Burley ,   Mary   A 759 

Burt,  Thomas  William 608 

Bush,  John  Stevens  784 

Bush,  Ezra   7S5 

Bush,  William   784 

Butler,   William   F 912 

Byers.  Parker  A 681 

Byers,    William    D 1216 

Byrne,  Michael  J 75G 

C 

Caldwell.   Albert    731 

Caldwell.    James    H 730 

Caldwell,  James  Lindsey   730 

Campbell,  John   1093 

Campbell,    William    S 1060 

Cann,  John   William    782 

Carter,   James    1116 

Carter,  Robert   1116 

Cartmill,    David    997 

Chamberlin,  David  J 605 

Chamberlin,  John  E 605 

Chew,    Joshua    901 

Christie.   George   Irving 953 

Clawson,   Louis    1040 

Clayton.  Mrs.   Emeline    695 

Clayton.   Thomas   J 695 

Cleaver.    Charles     H 1136 

Cochel,  Wilber  A 1054 

Combs,  James  P 835 

Combs,   Sarah  P 83G 

•Conarroe,  Thomas  Xewell   978 

Cones,  Francis  Marion 1121 

Conn,    Asahel    B 98G 

Conrad,    E.    Parker    1074 


Coulter.  Stanley    917 

Coyner,  Martin  P 971 

Crist,  Charles  Marsteller 999 

Crouch,  Jeptha 1015 

Crouse.  Alexander   Hamilton    CSo 

Crouse,  .lohn   W nSS 

Crouse,    Simeon    587 

Crouse,  William  0 585 

Cunningham.  .lohn   R lt)42 

D 

Davidson,  Edward  C 723 

Davidson,  Judah   619 

Davidson.   Robert    P G18 

Davisson,  William  C 97(i 

Deibert,  Jeremiah  M 946 

DeLong,  Mannow  Albert 1096 

Dienhart.   Jacob    919 

Doolittle,   W.   E 887 

Dorner,  Frederick   565 

Downs,   Andrew   J 112S 

Dryer,  Lyman  Lewis  803 

Dryfus.    Ferdinand    937 

Dry f us.   Leopold    S8S 

Duncan  Electric  Mant'g.  Co 1214 

B 

Eckhart,   Balsar    1065 

Etkhart.   John    C 1063 

Edwards,   Jeremiah    832 

Ehresman,   John    H 1142 

Elliott,    David    1053 

Elliott.  Samuel  Wilson   892 

Ellis,   Joseph    979 

Ellis,   Thomas    1084 

Ellis,  Thomas  P 980 

Erb,   Frederick   Henry.  Jr 67G 

Evans.   Herman   H 771 

Everett,  Frank  B 981 

F 

Feldt.    August    G 1 ISG 

Field,   Thomas   W 691 

Fisher,   Martin   L 948 

Fisher.   William   J 808 

Flark.    Hugh    580 

Flack.   John    1120 

Flanagan,   Daniel   P 710 


Flupgel,  Ernst  J 1114 

Fokkemer.    Charles    V 649 

Foreman.    Charles   Preston 942 

Foresman.    Bennett 1211 

Foresman.  John  P C93 

Foresman.  William  B 914 

Fottprall,  B.  F 1087 

Fowler    Family    116u 

Fowler,  James  M 1171 

Frazer.    Darius    H 718 

Fretz,   Daniel    B 787 

G 

Gagen,   John    P 815 

Gay,  James  Madison 945 

Gay.    John    W 776 

Gay,  Samuel  776 

Gaylord,    Harrison 904 

Gladden   Family    1193 

Gladden.  Richard 1194 

Gladden.  William   1194 

Gladden,   William.   Jr 1195 

Glaze,  William 939 

Gobat,  Frederick  August 860 

Golden,  Michael  Joseph 1059 

Goldsberry,    Peter   Putnam 1090 

Goldsmith.   Oliver   C 844 

Goodrich.    Silas    0 1197 

Gray,  M.  M 1069 

Gi  eenburg,  William   F 1189 

Grubb,   Lewis    S 1187 

Gude.   William    G 906 

H 

Hammond.   Edwin   P 632 

Hanna.gan.   Stephen  J 861 

Harding.   Charles   Francis 1154 

Harshman.    Isaiah    944 

Hassel.   Conrad    830 

Hawk.    Daniel    839 

Haywood,  Enoch  Francis 1209 

Haywood.  George  Price 533 

Henderson.  Charles  Haskell 696 

Henderson.  Jones   696 

Herriman.  William.  Jr 930 

Hight,   Robert   Foster   584 

Hill,    Aaron    S 749 

Hill.  John   Allen    749 

Hinea,   Charles    Benjamin 648 


Hogan,    Thomas    W C9S 

Hooker,  Brainard   G(j4 

Hooker,   Henry    Cl4 

Howell,  Robert  Henry    988 

Hubertz,   Edward    1127 

Hudlow,  William  B 92U 

Hunziker,  Otto  P 1222 

Hurst,  James   1131 

J 

Jackson,    Daniel    9liii 

Jackson,  Ferdinand   Cortez 11(18 

Jackson,   Sylvester   H 773 

Jackson,  William  Monholan 563 

Jacobs,    Duane   D 84ti 

Jamison,  Albert  R 708 

Jamison,   Hugh   Seabaugh 570 

Jester,   Lewis   X 880 

Jones,  William  J.,  Jr 957 

Jones,  William  Lyman 983 

Justice,    Xoah    1130 

K 

Kern,   Frank   D 91G 

Kienly,    Andrew    898 

Kile,  John  P 1078 

Kinimel,  Frank   70G 

Kinimel,  John    70G 

Kimmel.   Louis    70G 

King,  Warren  R 628 

Koonse,  Jeremiah  Philip    741 

Koonse,   Virginia  P 742 

Kurtz,  Charles   933 

L 

Lafayette  Conservatory  ot  Music...  1152 

Lairy,  M.  M 720 

Latta,   William   C 951 

Lee,   George   W 1089 

LeGalley .  Myron  E 722 

Lehnert,   Michael    1066 

Lentz.  Moses  A 1032 

Lesley,  Calvin    1118 

Lesley,   Daniel   1118 

Lewis,   James   D 114G 

Lewis,   Robert    1147 

Lofland,  William  Alfred 598 

Lucas,   William    Kent C04 


Ludy,   Llewellyn   V 1058 

Lugar,  Thomas  Wilson 054 

Lugar,  William   G54 

Lyle,  Thomas    C80 

Lyle,  Urban  A 680 

Lyman,  Edwin   B 1205 

Lyman,  Harry  B 1203 

Mc 

MeCabe,  James  Earl 10C2 

MeCabe,   Theodore    1202 

McClure,  Lawrence  James 1002 

McCorkle,  Charles  A 816 

McCorkle,  John  W 989 

McCormick,   Owen    1141 

McCormick,  Thomas  Jefferson 11U9 

McCormick,   William 1139 

McCoy,  John    1192 

McCoy,  Moraine   1191 

McDill,  Charles   9G2 

McGrath.  Robert  Henry 766 

McKee,   Thomas   G 760 

McMahan.   Adah    767 

McMillin.    John    K 1182 

M 

Macak,    Henry     1045 

MacMullan,  John  W.  T 1206 

Madden,  Joseph    1088 

Marks,   Thomas   M 1019 

Masters.  James   1145 

Masters,  William  G 1145 

May,  Jacob   837 

Mayfield,  A.  M 1196 

Meharry,   Greenleaf  Xorton 969 

Mertz,  Christian   GOl 

Meyer,   Frederick    993 

Mills,   Daniel    806 

Mitchell,  John  W 610 

Mitchell,  Josephine  M 786 

Mitchell,   Samuel   L 928 

Mitchell,  William  C 777 

Moflitt,  William  Robinson 659 

Moore,  Sarah  A 834 

Moore,  Thomas  Maxwell   876 

Moore,   William   H 834 

Moore,  William  H.  H 761 

Morehouse.  Joseph  Jennings 1105 

Morehouse,  Levi  J 1106 


Morgan.  Lee  Harry 5G2 

Motter,   Thomas   Seymour 1010 

Murdock,  Charles   737 

Murdofk,  Frederick   881 

Murdock,    James 529 

Murdock,    John 882 

Murdock,   Samuel 531 

Murdock,  William  F 88G 

Murdock.  William  T 882 

Myers,  Amos   994 

X 

Naylor,  Isaac   90 

Neumann,  Julius   SC7 

.Newhard,  Simon  Peter 1028 

Newman,  Christopher  Columbus....  824 

Newman,  John  H 824 

Newton,  Doc  1 728 

Nisley,  Oliver  Morton Co2 

O 

Oglesbay .  George  H 9(i5 

Oglesbay,  John  P 965 

Ohl.  Charles  W '. 109S 

P 

Parker,    Henry    Arnold SIO 

Parks,  George  Daniel 827 

Parlon,  Thomas  9(;7 

Paul,  Alfred   804 

Paul,  Monford    .• .  799 

Paul.   Reuben    799,  805 

Peirce,  Charles  H 54S 

Peirce,  Martin  Luther 540 

Peirce,  Oliver  Webster OSi; 

Peterson,  Jonas  A 930 

Pfrommer,  George  J 595 

Phillips,  Morris  Winfield 590 

Potter.  William   S 725 

Q 

Quaintance,  Ellis 9S4 

R 

Hausch,   Casper 992 

Rt'dinbo.  John  C    F li:;s 


Reeves.   James   L 893 

Reeves,  William    893 

Rentschler,  Michael   1037 

Reser,   Alva  O G72 

Reser,  Harvey   960 

Reule,   Fred    754 

Roberts.  William  A 574 

Rochester.  William  King 712 

Rosebery,  William  J 714 

Rosser.  John   1151 

Rosser.   Walter   C 1151 

S 

Sample,   Henry   Taylor CS8 

Sample.  Robert  W 592 

Sattler,  John    871 

Sattler,   George   Henry 8C9 

Schnaible,   John    5(i7 

Schnaible,    Matt 582 

Schnaible,  Michael   589 

Schultz,    Anton    820 

Schultz,   Charles   Henry 9G1 

Schultz-Boswell  Drug  Company 820 

Schumm.   George   Michael 742 

Sense.    Harry   C 704 

Sharpe,  Burton  Crouse 1030 

Shaw,  James  B C78 

Shearman,  Albert  Eugene 745 

Shearman.  Willett  H 74G 

Shelby,  George  B 803 

Sheltmire,   William    818 

Shoup,   A.   W 1 104 

Simison,  Barney   1 184 

Simison,  David  Parker 1024 

Simison.  Denny  Boyd 1008 

Simison,  John  Franklin 973 

Simms,   Daniel   W 040 

Skinner,  John  Harrison 1079 

Skinner,  John  W 752 

Slipher,  David   1218 

Smith,  Arthur  Bessey 1004 

Smith,  Benjamin  Wilson S4S 

Smith.  W'illiam   Werden 789 

Smock.  Richard   M 1174 

Snideman.    Harry   Madison OC<S 

Snoddy,  Alfred  Nevin 1050 

Stallard,  Charles  T 702 

Stallard,   Jacob   M 700 

Stallard,  Samuel  Thomas C99 

Stiuitiehl.   Allen    1073 


Stanfield  Family   1072 

Stanfield.  Samuel  B 107:^ 

Steele,  William   Wellington 90S 

Stein.   John   A 403 

Stein,   Mrs.    Virginia 403 

Sterrett,  Joseph  C 1163 

Stewart,  Joseph  Xorris f>9o 

Stillwell,  William  F 600 

Stingle,  James  M ()22 

Stone,  Winthrop   Ellsworth 531) 

Stuart,  Charles  B 1199 

Stuart,  William   Vaughn 612 

Sullivan,   Dennis   T 934 

Swisher,  John  B 1132 

Swltzer,  George  W SOO 

T 

Taylor,   Bennett    635 

Taylor,   Henry 616 

Taylor,  Jacob  M 1007 

Terry,  Oliver  P 1017 

Test,  Erastus   103S 

Throckmorton,  George  K 770 

Throckmorton.  Ora  E 1160 

Titus,   Harry   Edward 670 

Tower,  E.  A 115S 

Towsley,  Schuyler  A 593 

Troop,  James   949 

Tull.  Luther   1123 

Turner,  Charles  940 

V 

Van  Xatta,  Aaron S74 

Van  Xatta,  Job 644 

Van  Natta.  Job  Haigh 555 

Van  Xatta.  J.  Lynn 644 

Vater.  Septimius 864 

Va wter.  Everett  B 921 

Vawter.  Philemon  C 923 

Vayou,  E.  E 1064 

Vess.  Filander  Taylor 768 

Vinton.  Henry  Heath 1173 

Vyverberg.  K.  T 703 


W 

Wabash      Valley      Sanitarium      and 

Training   School    1177 

Wagoner,  Robert  Henry 1075 

Walker,  William  Simpson   686 

Wallace,  Aaron    872 

Wallace,  James  Bee 877 

Wallace  Machine  and  Foundry  Co..'     578 

Wallace,   William    576 

Walter,  William  J 1099 

Ware,  William  H 975 

Warner,  John  W 775 

Washburn,  Samuel  S 624 

Washburn,    William    Sanford 1056 

Waters,  Elmer  Ritchey 1100 

Weaver,  Peter  1026 

Weaver,  William  Otis 739 

Webster,  John  Colbert 673 

Welch,    Amos 744 

Westfall,   Arthur  Beaver 690 

Wetherill,  Richard  B 1002 

Whalen,  John  W 932 

Whalen,  Thomas  H 780 

Wiancko,  Alfred  T 955 

Wiggins,  Randolph 1035 

Williams,  Charles  F 639 

Williams,   Robert    1212 

Wilson,  James   841 

Wilson.   Moses   F 840 

Wilson,  William  C 544 

Winter,  George   615 

Wise,  Joseph   1126 

Wolf,   Joseph    1111 

Wood,  William  R 552 

Wooden  Railroad   1222 

Y 

Yeagy,  William  W 910 

Yost.  Allen  A 1143 

Yost,  William  H 1144 

Young,  William  W 896 

Z 

Zimmerman,    John 1148 


J^/^i^<2'-Z^'Z>Z^^      ^^^Hy^-'C^^t^C^t^-ti^^ 


PAST  AND  PRESENT 


OF 


TIPPECANOE  COUNTY,  IND. 


JAMES  MURDOCK. 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  ever  connected  with  the  business 
interests  of  Tippecanoe  and  other  counties  of  northern  Indiana  was  the  late 
James  Murdock,  of  Lafayette,  who  for  a  number  of  years  was  a  leader  in 
enterprises  which  tended  greatly  to  the  material  progress  of  his  city,  county 
and  state.  He  was  long  an  influential  factor  in  promoting  large  and  important 
undertakings  and  such  was  the  success  with  which  his  various  efforts  were 
crowned  that  his  name  is  still  suggestive  of  enterprises  which  bespeak  the  clear 
brain,  mature  judgment  and  master  mind  of  the  natural  leader  who  moved 
among  his  fellows  as  one  born  to  command.  James  Murdock  was  an  Ameri- 
can by  adoption,  but  none  the  less  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  country  which  he 
elected  to  be  his  home,  and  an  ardent  admirer  and  earnest  supporter  of  free 
institutions  under  which  he  reaped  success  such  as  few  attain,  and  attained  to 
positions  of  honor  and  trust  which  none  but  men  of  a  high  order  of  intellect 
are  capable  of  filling.  Born  in  the  county  of  Sligo,  Ireland,  in  the  year  1837, 
he  inherited  from  his  sturdy  ancestors  the  sterling  qualities  of  head  and 
heart  for  which  his  nationality  has  ever  been  distinguished,  and  while  still 
young  gave  evidence  of  those  powers  of  mind  which  result  in  well-rounded 
character  and  a  natural  aptitude  for  something  above  the  ordinary  in  the 
choice  of  a  profession  or  calling.  His  father,  John  Murdock,  was  a  Scotch- 
man by  birth,  and  his  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sabina  Kelly, 
was  born  and  reared  on  the  Emerald  Isle.  These  parents  lived  on  a  farm 
in  Ireland  until  1848,  when  they  emigrated  to  Canada,  thence  in  1830  removed 
to  New  York,  and  still  later  changed  their  abode  to  Ohio,  where  they  resided 
for  a  limited  period,  or  until  moving  to  Wayne  countv,  Indiana,  where  John 
(34) 


530  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Murdock's  death  occurred  in  1853;  ^'s  widow  survived  him  about  a  quarter 
of  a  century  and  departed  this  hfe  at  Lafayette  in  1878,  after  reaching  a  ripe 
old  age. 

James  Murdock  spent  the  years  of  his  childhood  on  the  homestead  in  his 
native  county  and  was  indebted  to  such  limited  training  as  the  schools  of  the 
neighborhood  afforded  for  his  preliminary  education.  Coming  to  America 
in  his  eleventh  year,  he  attended  for  some  time  night  schools  in  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  and  in  1853,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  started  out 
to  make  his  own  way  by  working  at  any  kind  of  employment  he  could  find. 
Coming  to  Lafayette  that  year,  he  worked  for  a  while  in  a  brickyard,  drove  a 
team  for  some  months,  and  later  in  partnership  with  his  brother  engaged  in 
farming  on  a  small  scale,  renting  for  the  purpose  the  river  bottoms  near  the 
city,  but  meeting  with  only  fair  success  in  the  venture.  Not  satisfied  with 
his  earnings  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  he  discontinued  farming  and  in  1859 
embarked  in  the  grocery  and  produce  business  at  Lafayette,  which  he  con- 
tinued for  twenty  years  with  encouraging  financial  success.  In  the  mean- 
time Mr.  Murdock  turned  his  attention  to  various  other  lines  of  enterprise, 
such  as  the  building  of  bridges,  taking  contracts  for  the  construction  of  gravel 
roads,  railroads  and  other  public  work,  which  he  carried  on  in  connection 
with  his  mercantile  interests  and  which  from  the  beginning  proved  success- 
ful beyond  his  expectations.  He  also  manifested  an  active  interest  in  public 
afifairs,  and  after  serving  a  term  as  township  trustee  was  elected  sheriflf  of 
Tippecanoe  county,  the  duties  of  which  office  he  discharged  with  credit  to 
himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  proving  in  this  as  in  other  posi- 
tions which  he  held  from  time  to  time,  a  capable  and  thoroughly  trustworthy 
public  servant. 

In  1879,  JNIr.  Murdock  was  appointed  warden  of  the  State  Prison  at 
Michigan  City,  and  held  the  position  for  a  period  of  twelve  years,  during 
which  time  he  left  nothing  undone  for  the  good  of  the  institution  and  the 
welfare  of  the  inmates,  and  ere  resigning  the  office  the  Northern  Indiana 
Penitentiary  not  only  ranked  among  the  best  regulated  prisons  in  the  United 
States,  but  was  pronounced  by  competent  judges  a  model  of  its  kind.  Shortly 
after  the  discovery  of  natural  gas  in  Indiana,  he  was  among  the  first  to  develop 
and  exploit  the  industry.  Associated  with  a  number  of  business  men  of  Lafay- 
ette and  Chicago,  he  took  a  leading  part  in  organizing  the  Citizens'  Natural 
Gas  Company,  of  which  he  was  elected  president,  and  later  he  assisted  in 
organizing  several  other  natural  and  artificial  gas  companies  in  Indiana  and 
Ohio,  the  success  of  which  was  largely  due  to  his  interest  and  capable  manage- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  53 1 

ment.  He  served  some  years  as  president  of  the  Indiana  School  Book  Com- 
pany, which  was  organized  in  1888,  and  in  1890  he  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank  of  Lafayette,  of  which  he  was  made  the 
chief  executive  official.  In  addition  to  the  above  enterprises  he  was  identified 
with  various  other  local  industries,  besides  having  large  and  valuable  farm- 
ing and  livestock  interests  in  dififerent  parts  of  Tippecanoe  county,  from  which 
he  derived  no  small  share  of  the  liberal  income  of  which  he  was  the  recipient. 
Of  broad  mind  and  liberal  tendencies,  he  took  large  views  of  men  and  things, 
was  calculated  by  nature  and  training  for  important  undertakings  and  as  a 
leader  in  the  various  enterprises  with  which  identified,  he  proved  worthy 
of  every  trust  reposed  in  him,  and  discharged  his  duties  with  such  conscientious 
fidelity  that  no  suspicion  of  dishonor  was  ever  attached  to  his  name.  His  was 
indeed  an  active  and  useful  life ;  his  influence  in  promoting  the  business  inter- 
ests and  material  advancement  of  his  own  and  other  cities  of  northern  Indiana 
was  greater  perhaps  than  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries.  One  of  the  notable 
men  of  his  day  and  generation,  he  laid  broad  and  deep  the  foundation  upon 
which  the  future  prosperity  of  his  city  and  county  very  largely  depends,  and 
that  his  labors  are  destined  to  constitute  a  monument  to  his  memory,  more 
enduring  than  marble  or  granite  or  bronze,  is  the  belief  of  all  who  knew  and 
were  familiar  with  his  enterprises  and  achievements. 

Mr.  Murdock  was  married  July  4,  i860,  to  Miss  Joanna  Bourk,  who 
bore  him  ten  children,  only  three  of  whom  survive,  viz. :  Charles  and  Sam- 
uel, sketches  of  whom  appear  elsewhere  in  these  pages,  and  a  daughter  Mary, 
who  is  single  and  lives  at  the  family  home  in  Lafayette.  Mrs.  Murdock  died 
October  29,  1891,  and  on  November  27,  1908,  James  Murdock  finished  his 
life  work  and  went  to  his  reward,  his  death  being'  deeply  regretted  by  the 
people  among  whom  he  had  so  long  lived  and  wrought. 

Samuel  Murdock,  son  of  James  and  Joanna  (Bourk)  Murdock,  was 
born  in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  June  11,  1868,  and  attended  during  the  years  of 
his  childhood  and  youth  St.  Mary's  parochial  school,  where  he  received  quite 
a  thorough  educational  discipline.  In  1879,  when  his  father  became  a  warden 
of  the  Northern  Prison,  he  entered  Notre  Dame  University,  where  in  due  time 
he  completed  a  full  course  in  civil  engineering,  and  some  years  later  he  was 
made  superintendent  of  the  street  car  system  of  Michigan  City,  which  position 
he  held  from  1887  to  1888  inclusive,  resigning  in  the  latter  year  to  become 
secretary  of  the  Citizens'  Natural  Gas  Company  of  Lafayette.  Mr.  Murdock 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  latter  office  in  Februar)^  1889,  and  it  was  dur- 
ing his  incumbency  that  gas  was  piped  from  the  central  Indiana  fields  to  La- 


532  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

fayette.  up  lo  that  time  the  largest  and  most  important  enterprise  of  the  kind  in 
the  state.  Subsequently  the  above  company  was  merged  into  the  Lafayette 
Gas  Company,  which  took  over  both  the  Citizens'  Natural  Gas  Company  and 
the  Lafayette  Artificial  Gas  Company,  also  the  Electric  Light  Company. 
Since  the  reorganization  referred  to  in  the  preceding  sentence,  the  Lafayette 
Gas  Company  has  been  merged  into  the  Indiana  Lighting  Company,  which 
operates  in  the  following  cities  of  this  state:  Peru,  Wabash,  Ft.  Wayne, 
Frankfort  and  Lebanon,  also  a  number  of  places  in  Ohio,  including  Lima,  St. 
Mary's,  Wapakoneta,  Ft.  Recovery,  Greenville  and  Celina,  of  which  large 
and  important  enterprises  Samuel  Murdock  is  secretary  and  general  manager. 

About  the  year  1898,  Mr.  Murdock  and  his  brother  Charles  became  inter- 
ested in  traction  lines  and  now  have  extensive  holdings  in  a  number  of  such 
properties,  the  subject  being  a  director  in  the  Ft.  Wayne  &  Wabash  Valley, 
Evansville  &  Southern  Indiana,  and  the  Chicago,  South  Bend  &  Northern 
Indiana  traction  companies,  being  secretary  of  the  company  last  named,  also 
a  director  of  the  Monon  railway. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  perceived  that  Mr.  Murdock  is  a  man  of 
action  as  well  as  ability,  and  that  he  has  discharged  worthily  the  various 
important  trusts  with  which  he  has  been  honored  is  demonstrated  by  the  con- 
tinued success  of  the  enterprises  with  which  he  is  identified.  He  is  essentially 
a  busy  man,  and  though  afifable  in  his  relations  with  others,  companionable 
to  a  marked  degree  and  fond  of  congenial  company,  he  long  since  decided  to 
act  upon  the  motto,  "Time  is  money.  I  have  neither  to  spend  save  in  the 
prosecution  of  my  business  interests."  In  person  he  is  tall  and  commanding, 
fully  six  feet  in  height,  with  broad  shoulders,  well  knit  frame — in  fine,  just 
such  a  man  to  engage  in  large  undertakings  and  carry  to  successful  conclusion 
anything  to  which  he  may  address  his  talents.  Possessing  executive  ability 
of  a  high  order,  he  manages  with  apparent  ease  what  the  majority  of  men 
would  find  burdensome,  and  being  systematic  in  all  he  does,  his  labors  and 
responsibilities,  although  great,  cause  him  little  concern. 

Mr.  Murdock's  domestic  life  dates  from  November  6,  1890,  when  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Addie  Gordon,  of  Elkhart,  Indiana,  daughter  of 
Alexander  Gordon,  of  that  city,  the  union  being  blessed  with  three  children, 
James  Gordon,  Alexander  Gordon  and  Alice  Gordon  Murdock.  In  his 
religious  faith  Mr.  Alurdock  is  a  Catholic,  belonging  to  St.  Mary's  church, 
Lafayette,  and  in  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  not  a  partisan  nor  an  aspirant 
for  public  honors.  He  and  his  wife  move  in  the  best  society  circles  of  their 
city,  and  those  who  know  them  best  speak  in  the  highest  praise  of  their  many 
sterling  qualities. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  533 


GEORGE  PRICE  HAYWOOD. 

The  Haywood  family  has  long  been  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Tippe- 
canoe county,  materially,  politically  and  socially,  having  come  here  in  the 
pioneer  days,  from  which  time  to  the  present  no  member  has  by  word  or 
deed  dimmed  the  luster  of  an  honored  escutcheon.  A  worthy  and  well-known 
representative  of  this  fine  old  family  is  George  Price  Haywood,  an  attorney 
of  Lafayette,  whose  name  needs  no  introduction  to  the  people  of  this  locality. 
He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  the  southern  part  of  Tippecanoe  county,  December 
15,  1852,  the  son  of  Henry  and  Martha  (Sherwood)  Haywood,  the  former 
a  native  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  and  the  latter  of  North  Carolina.  Henry 
Haywood  was  reared  in  Greene  county,  Ohio,  and  early  turned  his  attention 
to  farming,  which  he  followed  all  his  life.  He  came  to  Tippecanoe  county 
when  a  young  man,  having  married  in  Montgomery  county,  Indiana, 
where  he  lived  a  short  time.  It  was  in  1833,  soon  after  his  marriage, 
that  he  came  to  Tippecanoe  county,  being  among  the  early  settlers.  He  be- 
came a  prosperous .  farmer.  He  established  a  good  home,  and  lived  here 
the  remainder  of  his  life,  dying  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years  in  1891,  his 
wife  having  preceded  him  to  the  silent  land  in  1877,  when  fiftj'-five  years  of 
age.  Mr.  Haywood  was  a  man  of  many  fine  traits  of  character.  The  Hay- 
woods  came  to  America  from  England  in  the  colonial  days.  The  Sherwoods 
were  also  of  English  descent,  grandfather  Sherwood  having  been  a  pioneer 
in  Tippecanoe  county.  He  later  moved  to  Marion  county,  Iowa,  in  which 
state  he  died,  having  reached  a  very  old  age. 

George  P.  Haywood  was  the  seventh  child  in  order  of  birth  in  a  family 
of  eleven  children,  eight  of  whom  grew  to  maturity.  Two  brothers,  Thomas 
and  Curtis  D.,  served  in  the  Union  army,  in  Indiana  regiments.  The  former 
is  still  living  in  Lafayette,  while  the  latter  is  deceased. 

Two  other  brothers  are  now  living,  Enoch  F.,  a  landowner  in  Tippecanoe 
county,  who  lives  in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  and  Benjamin  S.,  a  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  who,  at  the  present  time,  is  the  superintendent  of 
the  church  and  its  affairs  in  Porto  Rico. 

George  P.  Haywood  was  reared  on  a  farm,  where  he  laid  the  foundation 
for  a  robust  manhood  and  learned  many  lessons  which  have  helped  to  mould 
his  subsequent  career.  He  attended  the  district  schools  until  he  was  sixteen 
years  old,  then  entered  the  academy  at  Green  Hill,  where  he  remained  two 
years,  and  later  took  a  scientific  course  at  Valparaiso  University,  then  known 


534 


PAST    .\ND    PRESENT 


as  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal.     He  was  graduated  from  the  last  named 
institution  in  1876. 

Mr.  Haywood  started  in  life  as  a  teacher,  which  profession  iie  followed 
most  of  the  time  for  eight  years,  having  begun  when  nineteen  years  old,  but 
the  law  had  its  attractions  for  him,  and  in  1877  he  began  studying  for  a 
career  as  an  attorney  with  Bartholomew  &  Smith  at  Valparaiso  He  taught 
school  in  the  meantime  until  1880,  in  which  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  Lafayette.  After  this  he  continued  the  study  of  law  for  two  years  in  the 
ofifice  of  G.  O.  &  A.  O.  Behm.  In  the  spring  of  1882  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  W.  F.  Bechtel,  the  firm  being  known  as  Bechtel  &  Haywood,  which 
continued  until  the  fall  of  1884,  after  which  he  continued  alone  in  the  practice 
of  the  law  until  ]\Iarch  i,  1896,  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles 
A.  Burnett,  under  the  firm  name  of  Haywood  &  Burnett,  which  partnership 
has  continued  until  the  present  time.  His  practice  has  steadily  grown  from 
the  first,  and  he  is  now  rated  as  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  in  a  community 
long  noted  for  the  high  order  of  its  legal  talent,  the  present  firm  of  which 
Mr.  Haywood  is  a  member  being  an  especially  strong  one.  and  having  a 
clientele  second  to  none  in  the  county. 

In  his  political  relations  Mr.  Haywood  is  a  Republican,  having  long 
taken  a  very  active  interest  in  the  party's  affairs  until  he  has  become  a  leader, 
his  advice  and  counsel  often  being  sought  by  local  politicians  and  office  seekers. 
In  1882.  Mr.  Haywood  was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  for  prosecuting 
attorney,  but  was  defeated.  In  1884,  he  was  again  defeated  for  the  nomina- 
tion for  the  same  office;  but  in  1886  he  was  successful  in  securing  the  nomina- 
tion, and  was  elected,  taking  charge  of  the  office  November  i.  1887.  In  the 
fall  of  the  following  year  he  was  re-nominated  and  re-elected,  ably  serving 
two  terms  of  two  years  each,  his  tenure  of  office  ending  on  November  7,  1891. 
According  to  his  constituents,  the  office  never  had  a  more  painstaking  and 
loyal  exponent.  During  those  four  years  there  were  seven  murder  cases,  and 
six  convictions  were  secured.  The  one  failure  was  a  second  trial,  having 
received  a  life  sentence  previously.  The  most  noted  case  was  the  one  known 
as  the  Pettit  case,  in  which  a  IMethodist  minister  was  charged  and  convicted 
of  poisoning  his  wife  by  strychnine.  He  was  tried  on  a  change  of  venue 
from  Tippecanoe  to  Montgomery  county  in  1890.  The  trial  lasted  six  weeks. 
Hon.  A.  B.  Anderson,  the  present  United  States  district  judge,  of  Indian- 
apolis, was  the  prosecuting  attorney  of  Montgomery  county  at  that  time  and 
assisted  in  the  prosecution. 

In  the  spring  of  1892  Mr.  Haywood  was  nominated  by  the  Republican 
state  convention  as  reporter  of  the  supreme  court,  but  he  met  defeat  with  the 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  535 

balance  of  the  state  ticket  in  the  election  of  that  year.  In  the  spring  of  1894 
he  was  appointed  city  attorney  by  the  city  council  of  Lafayette,  and  was  re- 
appointed from  time  to  time,  holding  this  office  for  a  period  of  twelve  years, 
handling  its  affairs  in  such  a  manner  as  to  reflect  credit  upon  his  natural  ability 
as  an  able  and  far-seeing  attorney,  and  at  the  same  time  being  of  incalculable 
good  to  the  city,  his  record  being  one  of  which  anyone  might  be  justly  proud. 
He  was  called  upon  to  serve  as  chairman  of  the  Republican  county  central 
committee,  which  he  did  for  a  period  of  two  years,  1894  and  1895,  when  he 
won  the  hearty  approval  of  all  concerned  for  his  conscientious  work  in  behalf 
of  the  Republican  ticket. 

Mr.  Haywood  is  a  stockholder  and  vice-president  of  the  Burt-Haywood 
Printing  Company,  publishers  of  the  Lafayette  Daily  and  Weekly  Journal, 
the  plant  being  a  very  extensive  and  complete  one,  equipped  with  modern  ap- 
pliances for  doing-  all  kinds  of  up-to-date  publishing.  The  Journal  wields  a 
strong  influence  in  the  moulding  of  public  opinion  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

On  October  i,  1879,  occurred  the  wedding  of  Mr.  Haywood  to  Mary 
Marshall,  at  Montmorenci,  this  county.  Mrs.  Haywood  is  a  native  of  Spring- 
field. Ohio,  a  talented  and  cultured  lady,  who  has  been  a  favorite  in  Lafayette 
social  circles  since  coming  here.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Mary 
J.  ( Wright)  Marshall,  the  former  an  honored  and  influential  resident  of 
Tippecanoe  county,  the  latter  deceased.  The  beautiful  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Haywood  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  three  children,  namely :  Leona,  the 
wife  of  Roy  E.  Adams,  of  Indianapolis,  was  a  student  at  Smith  University, 
one  of  the  most  noted  institutions  for  voung  ladies  in  the  east;  Marshall  E., 
who  is  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Burt-Haywood  Printing  Company, 
graduated  from  Princeton  L'niversity  in  the  class  of  1907:  George  P..  Jr.,  is  a 
student  at  Princeton. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Haywood  is  a  member  of  Tippecanoe 
Lodge,  No.  492,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Knights  Templar  Commandery, 
No.  3,  Lafayette:  Scottish  Rite,  and  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Indianapolis;  he  also  belongs  to  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  at  Lafayette.  ]\Irs.  Haywood  is  a  member  of  the 
Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  is  very  active  and  influential  in 
church  and  charitable  work  in  tlie  city. 

In  all  the  relations  of  life  JMr.  Haywood  has  been  true  to  every  trust 
reposed  in  him  and  he  takes  first  rank  among  the  representative,  loyal,  public- 
spirited  and  broad-minded  citizens  of  Tippecanoe  county,  where  lie  is  known 
and  respected  by  all  classes,  rightly  deserving-  the  high  esteem  in  which  lie  is 


536  PAST    ,\ND    PRESENT 

held,  although  he  is  himself  of  a  very  unostentatious  nature,  straightforward 
and  genial.  One  of  the  best  things  that  can  be  said  of  any  man  can  be 
said  of  Mr.  Haywood,  that  is.  that  he  is  always  loyal  and  true  to  his 
friends. 


WINTHROP  ELLSWORTH  STOXE.  Ph.   D..  LL.  D. 

Winthrop  Ellsworth  Stone,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,  president  of  Purdue 
University  and  distinctively  one  of  the  eminent  educators  of  his  day,  is  a 
native  of  New  England  and  an  honorable  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest 
families  in  that  section  of  the  Union,  being  of  the  tenth  generation  in  descent 
from  Simon  Stone,  who  immigrated  to  the  New  World  in  1630  and  located 
at  Cambridge.  Massachusetts.  This  ancestor,  who  was  one  of  the  first  promi- 
nent settlers  of  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony,  early  became  interested  in  the 
development  and  growth  of  the  country  and  being  a  man  of  sound  practical 
intelligence  and -much  more  than  ordinary  force,  it  was  not  long  until  he  rose 
to  a  position  of  prominence  and  influence  among  the  people,  and  in  various 
ways  rendered  efficient  service  in  directing  their  affairs.  Lauson  Stone,  the 
Doctor's  grandfather,  was  a  native  of  Chesterfield,  New  Hampshire,  and  by 
occupation  a  farmer.  He  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  at  or  near  the  place 
of  his  birth,  but  for  many  years  has  been  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  just  in  the 
old  cemetery  at  Chesterfield,  where  also  reposes  the  dust  of  a  number  of  his 
ancestors,  as  the  family  lived  for  several  generations  in  that  old  historic 
town. 

Among  the  children  of  Lauson  Stone  was  a  son  by  the  name  of  Frederick 
L..  whose  birth  occurred  at  the  ancestral  home  in  Chesterfield,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  who,  in  his  young  manhood,  contracted  a  marriage  with  Anna  But- 
ler, of  the  same  place.  Like  many  of  his  antecedents,  Frederick  Stone  became 
a  tiller  of  the  soil,  which  vocation  he  f^jllowed  in  his  native  commonwealth 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  then  removed  to  Amherst.  ^lassachusetts.  where 
he  and  his  good  wife  are  now  living  in  honorable  retirement.  Literesting  to 
a  marked  degree  were  many  of  the  sterling  characteristics  of  the  family, 
and  he,  too,  achieved  considerable  local  distinction,  and  during  the  years 
of  his  prime  was  one  of  the  leading  Republicans  of  the  community.  Fred- 
erick L.  and  Anna  Stone  have  always  been  held  in  high  esteem  in  their  differ- 
ent places  of  residence.  Imbued  with  the  New  England  idea  of  education,  they 
spared  no  pains  nor  expense  in  providing  the  most  thorough  intellectual  dis- 
cipline obtainable  for  their  children,  all  four  of  whom,  three  sons  and  one 


WINTHROP    ELLSWORTH    STONE,    PH.D.,    LL.  D. 

TRESIIIKXT    ITRDIK    I'MVERSITV. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  537 

daughter,  are  college  graduates  and  filling  honorable  stations  in  life,  Winthrop 
Ellsworth,  the  oldest,  achieving  distinction  as  an  educator  and  Harlan,  a 
younger  brother,  being  a  member  of  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  of  New 
York  city. 

Dr.  Winthrop  Ellsworth  Stone  was  born  in  the  old  town  of  Chester- 
field, New  Hampshire,  June  12,  1862,  and  spent  his  early  life  pretty  much 
after  the  manner  of  the  majority  of  New  England  lads.  During  the  summer 
months  his  employments  were  such  as  are  common  to  farmer  boys,  and  when 
not  at  work  in  the  fields  he  attended  the  public  schools,  where  he  made  rapid 
advancement  in  his  studies,  and  in  due  time  gave  promise  of  the  intellectual 
development  for  which  he  afterwards  became  noted.  To  these  early  years 
under  the  tutelage  of  parents  whose  highest  ambition  was  to  engraft  upon 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  their  children  such  principles  as  would  insure  careers 
of  usefulness.  Dr.  Stone  is  largely  indebted  for  the  integrity  of  character  and 
honorable  ambition  that  pre-eminently  distinguish  him  not  only  in  his  pro- 
fession, but  as  a  citizen  in  every  walk  of  life.  The  frugalities  of  the  farm- 
er's home,  the  chaste  purity  of  its  influence,  the  fields,  the  forest,  the  orchard 
and  meadow,  hill  and  dell — all  the  wealth  and  beauty  that  nature  spreads  out 
with  lavish  hands — were  teachers  whose  lessons  he  never  forgot.  It  was 
amidst  such  scenes  and  surroundings  that  the  early  years  of  the  future  edu- 
cator were  spent  and  their  influence  was  such  that  he  is  still  a  lover  of  nature 
and  a  student  of  its  mysteries. 

Applying  himself  closely  to  his  studies,  young  Stone,  at  the  age  of  six- 
teen, was  sufficiently  advanced  to  take  a  higher  grade  of  work,  accordingly 
in  1878  he  entered  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  at  Amherst,  which  he 
attended  during  the  four  years  ensuing,  when  he  was  graduated  with  an 
honorable  record  as  a  student.  Receiving  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science 
in  1882,  he  spent  the  following  two  years  as  scientific  assistant  and  observer 
on  a  private  experimental  farm,  which  had  been  established  some  time  before 
at  Mountainville,  New  York,  by  a  wealthy  man  desirous  of  arousing  an  inter- 
est in  advanced  methods  of  agriculture.  At  the  expiration  of  the  period  indi- 
cated, he  returned  to  Massachusetts  and  after  devoting  the  succeeding  two 
years  to  scientific  study  in  the  chemical  laboratory  of  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural College,  went  abroad  in  1886,  from  which  time  until  1888,  inclusive,  he 
studied  chemistry  in  the  University  of  Goettingen.  Germany,  receiving  from 
that  institution  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  latter  year. 

Returning  to  the  United  States  upon  the  completion  of  his  course,  Doctor 
Stone,  in  August  of  the  same  year,  entered  upon  his  duties  as  chemist  to  the 
experimental  station  of  the  University  of  Tennessee,  to  which  position  he  had 
been  appointed  a  few  months  previously  and  which  he  continued  to  fill  with 


538  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

ability  and  credit  until  his  resignation  one  year  later  to  become  professor  of 
chemistry  in  Purdue  University,  Lafayette,  Indiana.  Doctor  Stone's  repu- 
tation as  a  chemist  had  preceded  him  to  the  latter  institution  and  upon  the 
beginning  of  his  work,  in  October,  1889,  he  was  receixed  by  officials  and  pro- 
fessors as  well  as  students  with  every  mark  of  approbation  and  confidence. 
Fortified  with  superior  professional  training  under  some  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished scientists  of  Europe,  he  infused  new  life  into  his  department,  popu- 
larized the  study  of  chemistry  and  was  soon  surrounded  by  a  large  number  of 
enthusiastic  students,  who,  profiting  by  his  instructions,  in  due  time  carried 
their  knowledge  to  other  fields,  where  many  of  them  are  now  filling  places  of 
honor  and  usefulness  in  various  lines  of  industry'.  Doctor  Stone  filled  the 
chair  of  chemistry  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  officials 
of  the  university  and  all  others  concerned  until  June,  1900.  in  the  meantime, 
1892,  being  appointed  vice-president  of  the  institution,  which  position  he  held 
in  connection  with  his  other  work  for  several  j-ears,  discharging  his  official 
duties  with  the  same  interest  he  manifested  in  the  class-room,  and  proving  an 
influential  factor  in  attracting  students  and  putting  Purdue  on  the  way  to 
become  what  it  has  since  become,  one  of  the  most  thorough  and  popular  tech- 
nical schools  in  the  West.  During  the  absence  of  President  Smart,  in  1899, 
he  was  acting  president,  and  when  it  became  necessary  to  appoint  a  successor 
to  the  former  gentleman.  Doctor  Stone,  appearing  to  meet  every  requirement 
of  the  position  and  being  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  board,  was  duly  chosen 
president  in  July,  1900.  and  has  since  held  the  place,  discharging  his  official 
functions  with  the  best  interests  of  the  university  in  view  and  forging  rapidly 
to  the  front  among  the  distinguished  educators  not  only  of  Indiana  but  of  the 
country  at  large. 

Dr.  Stone  has  been  identified  with  Purdue  for  a  period  of  twenty  years, 
ten  as  a  member  of  the  faculty,  and  ten  as  chief  executive  of  the  institution. 
While  professor  of  chemistry,  he  did  much  scientific  work,  made  many  impor- 
tant researches  and  discoveries,  and  gave  the  results  of  his  investigations  to 
the  world  in  a  number  of  scholarly  papers  and  treatises,  published  in  this 
country  and  in  various  periodicals  abroad.  As  an  instructor  he  easily  ranked 
among  the  most  thorough  and  efficient  in  the  land  and,  as  already  indicated, 
students  from  his  department  have  achieved  distinction  as  teachers,  and  in 
various  other  lines  of  usefulness,  the  demand  for  their  services  attesting  the 
thoroughness  of  their  training  and  their  ability  to  fill  worthily  the  positions 
to  which  they  have  been  called.  As  a  faculty  member,  he  was  active  in  the  work 
of  committees,  being  for  several  years  chairman  of  the  committee  on  athletics, 
and  in  this  connection  had  much  to  do  with  the  organization  of  the  Inter- 
collegiate   -Athletic    Conference,   which  has  had   an   important    bearing    and 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  539 

influence  on  athletics  not  only  in  western  colleges  and  universities  but 
wherever  such  organizations  were  in  existence. 

The  growth  of  Purdue  since  Doctor  Stone  became  president  is  the  high- 
est testimonial  that  could  possibly  be  paid  to  his  ability  and  foresight  as  an 
executive  and  to  his  eminent  standing  as  a  broad-minded,  scholarly  and  enter- 
prising educator.  Since  taking  charge  of  the  responsible  position  which  he 
now  so  worthily  holds  and  so  signally  honors,  the  advancement  of  the  uni- 
versity has  kept  pace  with  the  leading  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States,  the  attendance  increasing  from  eight  hundred  and  forty-nine  in  1900 
to  one  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  thirty-six  in  1909,  the  number  and  capacity 
of  the  buildings  having  more  than  doubled  during  the  interim,  while  the  value 
of  the  university  property  has  advanced  from  seven  hundred  two  thousand 
dollars  to  one  million,  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  annual  income,  which  was  about  one  hundred  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  the  former  year,  now  amounts  to  considerably  in  excess  of  four  hun- 
dred thirty  thousand  dollars.  The  faculty,  which  formerly  numbered  sixty- 
five  professors  and  instructors,  now  contains  the  names  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  among  whom  are  some  of  the  leading  educators  of  the  country,  in  their 
special  lines  of  work,  no  pains  nor  expense  being  spared  in  securing  the  best 
ability  obtainable  in  order  to  keep  the  institution  at  the  high  standard  to  which 
it  has  been  raised  since  the  present  administration  has  directed  and  controlled 
its  policies  and  affairs.  As  a  technical  school,  admittedly  the  equal  of  the 
best  in  the  land,  its  work  is  so  thorough  and  its  reputation  so  high  that  hun- 
dreds of  students  are  attracted  to  its  walls  every  year  from  other  and  distant 
states,  satisfied  that  a  degree  from  the  institution  affords  the  best  and  surest 
passport  to  a  successful  and  honorable  career  in  this  world  of  industry  or 
scholarship. 

Doctor  Stone  has  always  stood  for  the  highest  grade  of  work  in  the  class- 
room. Economy  in  the  use  of  the  public  funds  and  thoroughness  in  all  mat- 
ters coming  within  the  sphere  of  his  authority.  He  exercises  the  greatest 
care  over  the  buildings  and  grounds,  looks  after  the  comfort  and  welfare  of 
students,  and,  being  proud  of  the  university  and  jealous  of  its  good  name  and 
honorable  reputation,  it  is  easily  understood  why  he  enjoys  such  great  pop- 
ularity with  all  connected  with  the  institution,  and  is  so  well  and  favorably 
known  in  educational  circles  throughout  the  country.  Though  still  a  young 
man,  he  has  achieved  success  such  as  few  attain,  but  not  satisfied  with  past 
results,  he  is  pressing  forward  to  still  wider  fields  and  higher  honors,  altliough 
his  place  among  the  eminent  men  of  his  day  and  generation  is  secure  for  all 
time  to  come.  Doctor  Stone  has  ever  pursued  a  straightforward  course  and 
his  manly,  independent  spirit  commands  fnr  him  universal  approbatinn.     He 


540  PAST    AND    PRESEXT 

has  proven  himself  equal  to  every  emergency  in  which  he  has  been  placed 
and  to  every  position  with  which  honored,  and  as  a  ripe  scholar  and  gentleman 
of  cultivated  tastes  and  high  ideals  he  fills  a  large  place  in  the  public  view 
and  enjoys  to  a  marked  degree  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all  with  whom 
he  comes  into  contact.  In  addition  to  his  professional  duties,  he  served  one 
term  as  chairman  of  the  school  board  of  West  Lafayette  and  for  a  number  of 
years  has  been  identified  with  the  American  Association  of  Agricultural  Col- 
leges, being  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  this  organiza- 
tion. Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  Indiana  he  has  been  active  and  influential 
in  the  work  of  the  State  Teachers'  Association,  also  with  the  affairs  of  the 
state  board  of  education,  of  which  he  is  an  ex-officio  member.  Though  first 
of  all  an  educator  and  making  his  work  as  such  paramount  to  every  other 
consideration.  Doctor  Stone  has  not  been  remiss  in  his  duty  to  the  community 
in  which  he  resides,  nor  unmindful  of  his  obligations  as  a  citizen.  A  Repub- 
lican in  politics  and  thoroughly  abreast  of  the  times  on  the  leading  questions 
and  issues  concerning  which  men  and  parties  divide,  he  is  not  a  partisan  and 
in  local  affairs  gives  his  support  to  the  best  qualified  candidates,  irrespective 
of  party  ties.  He  also  manifests  an  abiding  interest  in  the  growth  and  wel- 
fare of  his  adopted  city,  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Merchants'  National  Bank  of 
Lafayette  and  aims  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  every  enterprise  and  movement 
which  has  for  its  object  the  social  advancement  and  moral  welfare  of  his  fel- 
low men. 

Doctor  Stone,  on  June  24,  1889,  contracted  a  matrimonial  alliance  with 
Victoria  Heitmueller,  a  native  of  Prussia  and  the  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and 
Bertha  Heitmueller,  who  also  were  born  in  that  country.  Airs.  Stone  was 
reared  and  educated  in  her  native  land  and  has  presented  her  husband  with 
two  sons,  David  Frederick,  born  April  2.  1890.  and  Richard  Henry,  whose 
birth  occurred  on  September  25.  1892.  Doctor  Stone  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  Second  Presbyterian  church  of  Lafayette,  he  being  one  of  the  elders 
of  the  society.  They  are  actively  interested  in  all  work  under  the  auspices  of 
the  church,  besides  contributing  of  their  means  and  influence  to  the  furtherance 
of  various  charities  and  humanitarian  enterprises  in  their  own  and  other 
cities. 


MARTIN  LUTHER  PEIRCE. 

Words  of  praise  or  periods  of  encomium  could  not  clearly  convey  the 
personal  characteristics  of  the  noble  gentleman  of  whom  the  biographer  now 
essays  to  write  in  this  connection,  for  only  those  who  had  the  good  fortune 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  54I 

to  know  him  personally  could  see  the  true  beauty  of  his  character  and  indi- 
vidual traits,  which  were  the  resultant,  very  largely,  of  a  long  life  of  devotion 
to  duty,  a  life  filled  with  good  deeds  to  others  and  led  along  worthy  planes, 
for  during  his  long  business  career,  he  having  been  for  some  time  the  oldest 
business  man  in  Tippecanoe  county,  the  late  Martin  L.  Peirce  endeavored  to 
be  an  advocate  of  the  Golden  Rule.  He  was  born  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hamp- 
shire, June  26,  1806,  in  which  city  he  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  He  was  descended  from  the  family  of  Peirces  that  located  at  Kit- 
tery,  Maine,  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  where  his  father,  Dr. 
Nathaniel  S.  Peirce,  was  born  during  the  last  days  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. When  the  latter  was  twenty-three  years  old  he  edited  and  published 
the  New  Hampshire  Gazette  at  Portsmouth  for  several  years.  The  paper  was 
then  fifty  years  old  and  in  1889  it  was  the  oldest  newspaper  in  the  United 
States. 

In  March,  1821,  Martin  L.  Peirce,  as  a  clerk,  entered  the  counting  room 
of  C.  &  C.  W.  Peirce,  commission  merchants  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  remained  until  1828.  Then  he  came  to  the  middle  West  to  grow 
up  with  the  new  country  where  he  deemed  greater  opportunities  existed 
for  one  of  his  temperament,  and,  having  a  rare  executive  ability  and  keen 
foresight,  he  soon  got  a  foothold  and  became  prosperous.  From  1836  he  was 
an  active  business  man  in  the  city  of  Lafayette.  Taking  an  interest  in  public 
afifairs,  he  was  elected  sherifif  of  Tippecanoe  county  in  1840  and  again  in  1842 
on  the  Whig  ticket.  He  afterwards  refused  two  nominations,  one  for  county 
treasurer  and  one  for  county  clerk.  For  the  seven  years  following  he  was 
the  directing  member  of  Hanna,  Barbee  &  Company,  grain  and  commission 
dealers. 

January  7,  1850,  Mr.  Peirce  was  married  to  Emma  L.  Comstock,  of  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut,  the  daughter  of  Deacon  Comstock  of  that  city,  and  to  this 
union  four  children  were  bom,  two  of  whom  died  in  youth.  Charles  H., 
and  Lizzie  P.,  who  married  Fred  W.  Ward,  survived.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peirce 
also  reared  two  other  children,  Oliver  W.  and  Richard  G.  Peirce. 

In  1854  Martin  L.  Peirce  went  into  the  banking  business  as  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Spears,  Peirce  &  Company,  under  the  name  of  the  Commercial 
Bank  of  Lafayette,  and  in  1863  the  name  of  this  thriving  institution  was 
changed  to  the  First  National  Bank  of  Lafayette,  of  which  Mr.  Peirce  was 
elected  president,  which  position  he  held  until  his  death,  managing  the  afifairs 
of  the  bank  in  such  an  able  manner  as  to  give  it  wide  prestige  and  establishing 
it  on  as  solid  a  basis  as  any  bank  in  the  state.  This  bank  was  reorganized 
June  I,  1882.     This  was  among  the  first  banks  of  its  nature  organized  under 


54-  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

the  national  banking  law  in  the  United  States,  its  original  number  being  twenty- 
six,  all  of  which  charters  were  issued  the  same  day.  Mr.  Peirce  was  also 
vice-president  of  the  Lafayette  Savings  Bank,  which  he  was  instrumental  in 
organizing.  He  was  treasurer  of  Purdue  University  from  the  date  of  its 
organization  until  his  death.  He  was  also  a  trustee  of  Franklin  College  and 
of  the  Chicago  University,  having  always  taken  a  very  active  interest  in  edu- 
cational affairs,  and  no  small  part  of  the  success  of  the  above  named  in- 
stitutions was  due  to  his  wise  counsel  in  the  management  of  their  affairs. 
He  was  especially  interested  in  the  success  of  Purdue  University  from  the 
first — in  fact,  he  was  its  first  treasurer.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first 
to  suggest  to  John  Purdue  the  founding  of  this  university.  The  two  men 
were  closely  associated  and  one  day  when  they  were  riding  together  they 
passed  a  cemetery  where  a  thirty-six-thousand-dollar  monument  stood.  They 
commented  on  the  useless  waste  of  so  large  an  amount  of  money,  and  Mr. 
Peirce  suggested  to  Mr.  Purdue  that  he  leave  a  more  useful  monument  to 
his  memory  by  leaving  a  large  sum  to  a  college  to  bear  his  name.  In  this 
suggestion  others  urged  Mr.  Purdue  in  this  matter,  and  the  great  Purdue 
University  of  today  is  the  result. 

Mr.  Peirce,  in  his  fraternal  relations,  was  a  Mason,  having  identified  him- 
self with  this  ancient  and  honored  order  in  1840.  In  1867  he  visited  the  Paris 
Exposition  as  representative  of  the  Scottish-rite  Masons  of  the  United  State?, 
and  he  attended  the  grand  banquet  of  the  Grand  Orient  of  Paris,  where 
eleven  hundred  delegates,  representing  every  civilized  country  in  the  world, 
assembled.  This  was  a  distinction  of  which  any  one  might  well  l3e  proud. 
While  abroad  he  visited  the  principal  countries  of  Europe  and  the  British 
Isles.  He  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  member  initiated  into  Tippe- 
canoe Lodge,  No.  55,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  Lafayette.  Since 
1843  to  the  time  of  his  death,  December  28,  1889,  he  was  an  active  and  promi- 
nent member  of  the  First  Baptist  church.  At  various  times  he  made  liberal 
donations  to  the  church  and  to  Purdue  University,  the  fine  greenhouse  on  the 
grounds  of  the  latter  being  the  result  of  his  generosity.  He  was  originally 
a  Free  Soiler,  but  ever  since  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party  he 
was  a  loyal  supporter  of  the  same. 

At  the  national  convention  of  bankers  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  1887, 
he  was  a  delegate,  being  the  oldest  of  between  three  and  four  hundred 
bankers  in  attendance.  He  was  held  in  highest  esteem  by  the  members  of 
that  association,  by  members  of  the  lodges  with  which  he  was  identified,  in 
fact  by  all  classes,  for  he  had  sterling  traits  of  character  which  commended 
liini  t"  all,  enjoying  tb.e  unqualified  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens.     His  long 


TIPl'liCANOE    COUNTY,    INl).  543 

and  eminently  useful  life  was  replete  with  success  because  he  worked  for  it 
in  an  honorable  manner,  his  life  work  having  been  nobly  planned  and  singular- 
ly free  from  blot  or  stain,  or  even  the  suspicion  of  evil,  his  entire  career 
being  marked  by  generous  acts.  The  suffering,  the  worthy  poor,  the  deserv- 
ing young  man,  the  church,  the  cause  of  education,  never  appealed  to  liim 
in  vain.  He  gave  liberally,  ungrudgingly  and  unostentatiously,  being- 
prompted  by  the  broad  charity  which  he  felt  rather  than  by  any  desire  to 
make  a  display,  his  only  hope  of  reward  being  the  consciousness  of  doing 
good.  As  a  financier  and  banker-captain  of  industry,  his  sound  judgment, 
unusual  executive  ability  and  fidelity  to  duty  placed  the  institutions  with 
which  he  was  connected  in  the  front  rank  of  their  kind.  He  was  truly  a 
consecrated  Christian  man.  anil  it  was  in  his  home  life  that  his  character  shone 
w'nh  peculiar  luster — the  tenderness  in  his  nature  created  idols  out  of  its  loves 
and  his  wife,  children  and  grandchildren  were  its  loves.  Truly  he  was  a 
good  man  like  that  mentioned  in  Holy  Writ  "whose  life  w-as  as  a  shining 
light." 


CHARLES  HOWARD  ANKENY. 

Though  the  dead  are  soon  forgotten,  few  will  linger  longer  in  the 
memory  of  citizens  of  Lafayette  than  the  late  Charles  Howard  Ankeny.  This 
is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  the  qualities  which  impress  men.  Prominent 
and  prosperous  in  business,  he  established  a  character  for  integrity,  public 
spirit  and  the  social  amenities  of  life.  Modest  and  unassuming,  he  was  really 
a  man  of  great  force  of  character  and  usually  found  in  the  lead  when  any 
movement  was  on  foot  for  the  betterment  of  the  city.  Tenacious  of  his  own 
rights,  he  respected  the  rights  of  others,  and  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term  he 
was  always  a  gentleman  in  social  intercourse,  as  well  as  a  model  citizen  in 
affairs  affecting  the  public.  There  was  no  more  active  member  of  the  Mer- 
chants and  Manufacturers'  Exchange  and  the  Lafayette  Commercial  Club. 
He  was  a  lover  of  his  home  and  family,  noted  for  gentleness  and  kindness 
and  the  "soft  answer  that  turneth  away  wrath."  The  record  he  left  will  long 
be  an  inspiration  to  those  who  knew  and  loved  him  best  and  Lafayette  has 
never  had  a  worthier  name  on  her  roll  of  honorable  citizenship.  This  well- 
known  business  man  was  a  son  of  Peter  and  Sabra  Ankeny,  born  in  Wash- 
ington, Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  October  2,  1844.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Civil  war,  though  only  sixteen  years  old,  he  was  anxious  to  become  a  soldier 
for  the  Union,  but  owing  to  his  slight  physique  was  not  allowed  to  enlist.   He 


544  P-^ST    AND    PRESENT 

overcame  the  difficulty,  however,  by  becoming  a  drummer  boy  in  Company  C, 
Sixtieth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  With  his  command  he  went  to 
the  front  and  when  he  was  discharged,  November  22,  1862, 'he  had  attained 
the  rank  of  sergeant.  After  leaving  the  army  he  obtained  employment  with 
Duhme&  Company,  the  famous  jewelry  firm  of  Cincinnati,  but  only  remained 
with  them  a  short  time,  as  he  went  into  business  for  himself  in  1864,  as 
proprietor  of  a  jewelry  store  at  Richmond,  Indiana.  He  remained  in  that 
city  for  ten  years  and,  in  1874,  located  at  Lafayette,  which  was  destined  to  be 
the  scene  of  his  life  work.  He  established  a  jewelry  store  at  No.  131  North 
Fourth  street,  east  of  the  court  house,  which  in  time  became  one  of  the  land- 
marks of  the  city.  In  a  short  time  he  was  recognized  as  a  leader  in  his  line 
and  by  remaining  in  the  same  place  for  thirty-four  years  built  up  a  good 
will  that  made  this  property  very  valuable  in  a  commercial  sense.  At  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  October  4,  1908,  the  Ankeny  store  was 
probably  the  oldest  in  continuity  of  existence  of  any  similar  establishment  in 
the  city. 

In  1870  Mr.  Ankeny  married  Caroline  Strickland,  a  lady  of  great  worth 
and  much  natural  charm,  and  a  member  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
families  in  America.  She  is  a  native  of  Maine  and  on  her  mother's  side  de- 
scended from  the  celebrated  James  Otis,  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the 
Revolutionary  leaders  and  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 
result  of  this  union,  which  continued  in  complete  harmony  and  happiness  for 
thirty-eight  years,  was  an  only  daughter,  now  well  known  in  Lafayette  society 
as  Miss  Alice  H.  Ankeny.  Mr.  Ankeny  was  a  charter  member  of  John  A. 
Logan  Post  No.  3,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He  was  also  prominent 
in  Masonry  as  a  member  of  Tippecanoe  Lodge.  No.  492,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  and  Lafayette  Commandery,  No.  3,  Knights  Templar.  He  belonged 
to  the  Loyal  Legion,  a  military  and  patriotic  organization  growing  out  of 
the  Civil  war,  and  including  in  its  membership  many  names  made  illustrious 
by  that  immortal  struggle. 


COL.  WILLIAM  C.  WILSON. 

One  of  the  prominent  and  influential  citizens  of  Lafayette,  Indiana,  was 
Col.  William  C.  Wilson,  whose  honorable  career  is  deserving  of  recognition 
in  a  history  of  the  province  of  the  one  at  hand,  if  for  no  other  reason  because 
of  his  distinguished  services  in  defense  of  the  flag  on  many  a  sanguinary 
battlefield.     He  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  this  state,  November  22, 


X^      1^,      ^^^^^:^-^^^ 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  545 

1827,  the  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Cochran)  Wilson.  His  grandparents 
were  natives  of  Virginia,  the  Wilson  family  having  settled  in  that  state  in  a 
very  early  day.  One  member  of  the  family  v^'as  a  member  of  congress  from 
that  state  in  1824.  The  family  finally  left  the  Old  Dominion  state  and  located 
in  that  portion  of  Lincoln  county,  now  called  Gerrard  county,  Kentucky. 
Here  the  father  of  John  Wilson,  the  Rev.  James  Wilson,  who  for  many 
years  was  a  noted  Presbyterian  minister  at  Staunton,  Augusta  county,  Vir- 
ginia, was  killed,  having  been  thrown  from  a  horse,  leaving  a  widow  with  a 
large  family  to  support.  She  was  then  compelled  to  give  up  the  farm,  and 
her  son  John,  father  of  Colonel  Wilson,  soon  thereafter  began  working  at 
blacksmithing,  working  side  by  side  with  slave  laborers.  He  learned  to  detest 
the  institution  of  slavery  and  became  an  abolitionist.  He  left  Kentucky  for  the 
West  and  at  Edwardsville,  Illinois,  he  met  and  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  In  1822  he  located  in  Montgomery  county,  Indiana,  and 
soon  afterward  became  employed  in  the  United  States  land  office  at  Craw- 
fordsville.  During  those  pioneer  days  everything  was  freighted  by  trains  and 
money  from  the  land  office  was  shipped  by  such  methods  to  the  East.  It  would 
be  loaded  into  the  wagons  at  night  and  left  there  until  morning  in  order  to  get 
an  early  start.  In  1823  Mr.  Wilson  was  elected  the  first  clerk  of  that  county, 
which  office  he  filled  continuously  and  acceptably  for  a  period  of  fourteen 
years.  He  then  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  and  afterwards  retired  to  a 
farm  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  years 
of  industry.  He  was  a  successful  business  man  and  everybody  admired  him 
for  his  many  praiseworthy  qualities.  He  died  in  Crawfordsville,  Indiana, 
in  1864,  his  widow  surviving  until  1884,  her  death  having  occurred  in  La- 
fayette. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  John  Wilson  was  one  of  the  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  legislature  to  locate  the  county  seat  of  Tippecanoe  county, 
and  he  also  helped  lay  out  the  city  of  Lafayette.  He  served  one  term  in  the 
legislature,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  1840,  being  in  politics  a  Whig.  He 
was  truly  a  self-made  man,  having  educated  himself,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
honored  pioneers  of  Indiana. 

Colonel  Wilson's  brother,  James  Wilson,  was  United  States  minister  to 
Venezuela,  who  died  in  South  America  while  in  his  country's  service.  Of 
this  family  in  Tippecanoe  county,  there  are  now  one  sister.  Miss  Margaret  C. 
Wilson,  and  two  brothers,  one  a  former  well-known  dry  goods  merchant, 
Austin  P.  Wilson,  and  George  W.  Wilson.  The  last  named  recently  proposed 
a  new  grouping  of  the  stars  of  the  American  flag,  grouping  the  forty-eight 
stars  into  one  huge  star,  arranged  so  as  to  give  them  historic  significance.  .-\ 
(35) 


546  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

design  of  the  new  emblem  was  published  in  the  papers  throughout  the  United 
States,  having  been  very  favorably  commented  on,  since  it  tells  the  history  of 
the  American  flag  and  makes  the  emblem  more  beautiful. 

One  branch  of  this  family  descended  from  Col.  William  ]McKee.  a  soldier 
in  Braddock's  army,  who  fought  at  the  famous  battle  known  as  Braddock's 
Defeat  in  1775.  He  was  captain  of  a  company  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleas- 
ant, Virginia,  in  1778,  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  which  was  one  of  the 
bloodiest  battles  with  Indians  ever  fought  on  this  continent.  Colonel  McKee 
had  been  commissioned  by  Lord  Dunmore  and  was  in  command  of  the  fort 
at  Point  Pleasant  in  1778. 

In  the  family  homestead  in  Lafayette  is  a  very  large  and  valuable  library, 
collected  chiefly  by  Colonel  Wilson :  here  also  may  be  seen  numerous  interest- 
ing old  heirlooms. 

Col.  William  C.  Wilson  was  reared  in  Crawfordsville.  this  state,  and 
educated  in  private  schools.  He  also  attended  ^^'abash  College,  graduating 
from  that  institution  in  1847,  '^nd  in  1849  he  graduated  from  the  law  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Indiana.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Crawfordsville,  both  for  the  circuit  and  supreme  courts.  In  1849  li^ 
was  appointed  prosecuting  attorney  for  his  circuit,  and  in  1850  he  came  to 
Lafayette  and  began  practicing  law  with  Major  Daniel  IMace,  which  partner- 
ship continued  until  the  latter  was  elected  to  congress  in  1852.  Mr.  Wilson 
then  practiced  alone  until  1854,  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  George 
Gardner  (late  judge  of  the  municipal  court  of  Chicago),  which  alliance  con- 
tinued until  1859,  when  Mr.  Gardner  went  to  Chicago  and  Colonel  Wilson 
was  again  alone  in  his  practice. 

On  April  17,  1861.  two  days  after  Lincoln's  first  call  for  troops  to  put 
down  the  rebellion.  Air.  Wilson  hastened  to  volunteer  as  a  private  soldier  in 
the  Union  army  and  four  days  afterward  he  was  mustered  into  service  as 
captain  of  Company  D,  Tenth  Regiment.  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  he 
having  raised  the  company.  While  at  Indianapolis  he  was  appointed  major 
of  the  regiment,  which  served  in  West  Virginia  in  the  Indiana  and  Ohio 
Brigade,  commanded  by  General  Rosecrans.  Major  Wilson  was  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Rich  Mountain.  He  was  mustered  out  with  his  regiment  in 
August,  1861,  During  the  following  autumn  he  recruited  the  Fortieth  Regi- 
ment. Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  on  September  23d  of  that  year  he 
became  its  colonel.  This  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumber- 
land under  General  Thomas.  On  March  27,  1862,  Colonel  ^^'ilson  resigned 
on  account  of  ill  health,  after  a  career  which  was  very  meritorious  in  everv 
respect.     At  the  time  of  Morgan's  northern  raid,  it  is  said  that  Colonel  Wil- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND. 


547 


son  recruited  the  One  Hundred  and  Eighth  Indiana  Regiment  in  seven  hours 
and  he  was  its  colonel  from  July  12,  1863,  during  the  term  of  enlistment  for 
the  purpose  of  capturing  that  intrepid  southern  leader.  On  May  24,  1864,  he 
was  appointed  colonel  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fifth  Regiment.  Indiana 
Volunteer  Infantry,  and  was  assigned  to  the  Twenty-third  Corps  of  Sherman's 
army  in  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  he  was  among  the  detachment  sent 
back  to  Nashville  in  pursuit  of  Hood.  He  was  honorably  mustered  out  of 
service  in  September,  1864,  and  he  soon  afterwards  returned  to  his  law  prac- 
tice in  Lafayette.  He  had  three  brothers  in  the  Civil  war.  all  officers  and  brave 
soldiers,  one  of  whom  had  also  been  in  the  Mexican  war. 

In  1853  occurred  the  marriage  of  William  C.  Wilson  to  Sarah  F.  Bon- 
nell,  of  Independence,  Warren  county,  Indiana. 

In  1866  to  1867  Colonel  Wilson  was  assessor  of  internal  revenue,  and 
from  1868  to  1869  he  was  postmaster  of  Lafayette,  filling  both  oftices  in  a 
manner  that  reflected  credit  upon  his  ability  as  a  public  servant.  He  was  also 
a  very  active  and  valuable  member  of  the  city  council.  He  was  first  a 
Whig,  but  he  became  a  Republican  when  that  party  came  into  power.  In  1876 
he  delivered  an  address  before  the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, 
of  which  he  was  a  member,  at  Philadelphia.  The  address  was  received  with 
high  encomiums  by  the  press  all  over  the  country.  On  November  13,  1879, 
at  the  thirteenth  annual  banquet  of  the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
held  in  Chicago,  Colonel  Wilson  was  one  of  the  orators  among  such  dis- 
tinguished men  as  Grant,  Logan,  Sheridan,  Hurlburt  and  Ingersoll.  He  was 
called  on  to  take  the  place  of  General  Garfield,  responding  to  the  toast,  "The 
Army  of  the  Cumberland  and  its  Leader,  the  Rock  of  Chickamauga."  His 
speech  was  such  a  masterpiece  that  it  was  printed  in  full  in  the  papers  through- 
out the  countr)'.  He  also  made  a  memorable  address  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  present  court  house  of  Tippecanoe  county. 

The  death  of  this  distinguished  man,  this  able  public  servant,  noted 
attorney  and  popular  citizen  occurred  on  September  25,  1891,  in  Lafayette. 
Those  who  knew  him  best  pronounced  him  a  man  of  steadfastness  in  pursuit 
of  an  honorable  purpose,  possessing  untiring  industry,  with  the  highest  order 
of  moral  and  physical  courage,  a  man  of  intense  energy  and  zeal,  all  these 
praiseworthy  characteristics  supplemented  by  a  wealth  of  thrilling  eloquence 
which  often  enabled  him  to  win  the  most  difficult  cases  and  hold  his  hearers 
spellbound  on  any  subject.  He  was  patient,  forbearing,  gentle  and  loving;  as 
a  commander  he  was  alert,  cautious,  fearless  and  his  soldiers  all  put  the  utmost 
confidence  in  his  ability  and  admired  him  as  a  man ;  he  was  generous  and  kind, 
and  he  discharged  his  official  trusts  with  fidelity  and  universal  satisfaction. 


548  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

In  matters  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  his  county,  state  and  nation,  Colonel 
Wilson  was  deeply  interested,  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  general  progress 
were  far-reaching  and  beneficial.  His  name  is  indelibly  associated  with  prog- 
ress in  this  county  and  among  those  in  whose  midst  he  lived  and  labored  he 
was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  reason  of  an  upright  life  and  of  fidelity  to 
principles  which  in  every  land  and  clime  command  respect.  Now  that  his 
eminently  useful  career  has  closed,  his  influence  for  good  is  still  alive,  and 
many  young  men  have  been  strengthened  by  contemplating  his  life  and  emulat- 
ing his  worthy  example.  Truly  he  was  a  man  of  high  attainments  whose 
light  has  not  been  extinguished  by  the  transition  we  call  death,  but  it  shines 
on  with  a  luster  which  the  future  years  shall  not  dim. 


CHARLES  H.  PEIRCE. 

It  is  impossible  within  the  circumscribed  limits  of  this  review  to  give 
more  than  a  mere  glance  at  leading  facts  in  the  life  of  one  of  Tippecanoe 
county's  most  influential  and  best  known  men.  In  the  broadest  and  best 
meaning  of  the  term,  he  is  a  benefactor  in  that  he  has  labored  for  the  material 
prosperity  of  this  county  while  advancing  his  own  interests.  The  noble  pur- 
poses and  high  ideals  by  which  his  life  is  directed  and  controlled  renders 
Charles  H.  Peirce  deservedly  popular  with  all  classes.  A  native  of  Lafayette, 
Indiana,  where  his  birth  occurred  April  22,  1857,  he  has  elected  to  remain 
here,  believing  that  this  vicinity  held  greater  opportunities  for  him  than  re- 
mote localities.  He  is  the  son  of  the  well-known  late  Martin  L.  Peirce,  whose 
biography  appears  in  full  on  another  page  of  this  work.  His  mother  was 
known  in  her  maidenhood  as  Emma  Comstock,  a  native  of  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut, a  kindly  woman  of  beautiful  Christian  character  who  has  lived  in 
Lafayette  for  about  sixty-five  years  and  is,  at  this  writing,  making  her  home 
with  her  son.  Charles  H.  Peirce. 

Mr.  Peirce  grew  to  manhood  in  Lafayette,  spending  his  youth  in  much 
the  same  manner  as  other  young  men  contemporaneous  with  him — attending 
the  common  schools  until  the  opening  of  Purdue  University  when  he  began 
a  course  there,  having  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  pupil  enrolled  in  the 
first  class  organized  in  that  institution.  After  leaving  the  university,  where 
he  made  a  very  commendable  record,  he  became  connected  with  the  First 
National  Bank,  with  which  he  remained  for  a  period  of  about  twenty  years, 
during  which  time  he  became  familiar  with  the  details  of  banking  and  general 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  549 

business  methods,  partly  under  the  training  of  his  father,  a  financier  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability.  Thus  he  came  to  his  next  position,  that  with  the  Kern 
Packing  Company  (now  the  Lafayette  Packing  Company),  well  qualified  for 
its  exacting  duties.  Remaining  with  this  firm  for  one  year,  he  went  to  Indian- 
apolis where  he  engaged  in  the  ice  business  for  a  period  of  three  and  one-half 
years,  returning  to  Lafayette  in  January,  1909,  when  he  became  connected 
with  the  Lafayette  Fuel  and  Builders'  Supply  Company,  of  which  he  is,  at 
this  writing,  secretary  and  treasurer;  under  his  judicious  management  this 
firm  is  doing  an  extensive  business. 

On  December  9,  1879,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Charles  H.  Peirce 
with  Hattie  M.  Brown,  a  native  of  Lafayette  and  the  daughter  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  L.  W.  Brown,  an  old  and  well-established  family  here.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Brown,  however,  are  now  residing  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania.  Mrs.  Peirce 
is  a  woman  of  culture,  refinement  and  affability  and  she  presides  over  the 
beautiful  Peirce  home  with  a  grace  that  causes  the  large  coterie  of  friends 
of  the  family  to  delight  to  gather  there,  always  finding  a  hospitable  and  cheer- 
ful welcome.  This  union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  one  son,  Martin 
L.  Peirce,  whose  talents  seem  to  run  along  journalistic  lines,  he,  at  present. 
being  the  telegraph  editor  of  the  Lafayette  Courier. 

Something  of  Mr.  Peirce's  innate  business  qualities  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing incident.  When  about  twelve  years  of  age  he  won  a  prize  of  one 
hundred  dollars,  offered  by  his  father,  for  a  certain  accomplishment.  When 
asked  what  he  intended  doing  with  it  he  replied :  "Put  it  in  the  savings  bank 
to  the  credit  of  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Peirce."  And  he  did  so,  leaving  it  until 
he  was  married,  when  his  bride  received  it  as  a  wedding  present.  It  had  then 
fully  doubled  by  compounding  the  interest.  She  still  leaves  it  in  the  bank, 
untouched. 

Religiously,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peirce  belong  to  the  First  Baptist  church,  of 
Lafayette,  being  interested  in  the  various  lines  of  charitable  and  missionary 
work  under  its  auspices.  They  are  pleasant  people  to  know,  avoid  publicity 
and  sham  in  all  its  forms,  plain,  straightforward  and  kindly,  thus  easily 
making  and  retaining  friends. 


JOSEPH  BLISTAIN. 

Among  the  men  of  influence  in  Tippecanoe  county,  who  have  the  inter- 
est of  their  locality  at  heart  and  who  have  led  consistent  lives,  thereby  gaining 
definite  success  along  their  chosen  lines,  is  Joseph  Blistain,  one  of  the  pro- 


550  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

gressive  business  men  of  the  city  of  Lafayette  where  he  figures  prominently 
not  only  in  commercial  circles  but  also  in  the  civic  and  social  life.  He  was 
born  August  13,  1854.  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  the  son  of  Anthony  and 
Catherine  (Hauck)  Blistain.  He  lived  in  Wheeling  about  one  year,  when  his 
parents  moved  to  Cincinnati  where  they  lived  about  seven  years,  then  moved  to 
Chillicothe,  Ohio,  where  Joseph  remained  until  1875,  attending  the  public 
schools  and  preparing  himself  for  his  subsequent  business  career.  In  1872 
he  took  a  position  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  dry  goods  and  notion  store  of 
Joseph  Stewart,  of  Chillicothe,  Ross  county,  Ohio,  where  he  made  rapid  ad- 
vancement, so  that  after  his  second  year  there  he  was  sent  out  as  a  traveling 
salesman,  selling  goods  by  sample,  alternating  his  trips  with  clerking  in  the 
store,  continuing  thus  until  about  1875,  when  he  severed  his  connection  with 
this  firm  and  became  traveling  salesman  for  William  H.  Scheer  &  Company, 
wholesale  dealers  in  hats,  caps,  furs  and  gloves  at  Cincinnati,  which  position 
he  held  with  credit  and  entire  satisfaction,  giving  to  it  his  best  talents  until 
1878.  Then  he  took  a  position  with  Jorling  &  Kolling,  who  had  been  mem- 
bers of  the  firm  of  \Y.  H.  Scheer  &  Company,  but  withdrew  in  1878  and 
embarked  in  the  same  business  for  themselves,  Mr.  Blistain  acting  as  their 
bookkeeper  and  traveling  salesman.  In  1880  the  firm,  then  known  as  H. 
Jorling  &  Company,  admitted  Mr.  Blistain  as  a  partner,  and  after  six  years 
of  very  successful  business  the  latter  disposed  of  his  interest  and  came  to 
Lafayette,  Indiana,  and  became  connected  with  the  Newman  &  Bohrer  Brew- 
ery. After  the  death  of  Mr.  Newman  in  1889.  the  firm  became  the  George  A. 
Bohrer  Brewing  Company  and  was  incorporated  with  an  authorized  capital 
stock  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  Mr.  Blistain  became  treasurer  of 
the  company,  which  responsible  position  he  still  holds,  discharging  the  duties 
of  the  same  in  a  manner  that  stamps  him  as  a  man  of  unusual  business  acumen, 
foresight  and  soundness  of  judgment.  This  firm  enjoys  a  very  liberal  patron- 
age, shipping  large  consignments  of  goods  to  Michigan,  Ohio,  Illinois,  covering 
these  states  thoroughly,  to  say  nothing  of  the  phenomenal  trade  over  Indiana. 
When  Mr.  Blistain  became  a  member  of  this  firm  its  prestige  was  not  so 
very  extensive,  but  by  frugal  industry  it  has  increased  to  an  annual  capacity 
of  twenty  thousand  barrels.  The  building  frontage  is  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  running  back  to  the  alley  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  and 
the  buildings  are  all  of  brick,  three  and  five  stories  high,  fully  equipped  with 
the  latest  improved  machinery  and  most  modern  appliances  of  every  type  to 
insure  the  best  possible  results.  Everything  is  under  an  excellent  system 
and  the  plant  is  a  model  of  its  kind  in  every  respect. 

Anthony  and  Catherine  (Hauck)  Blistain.  parents  of  Joseph,  were  both 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  55 1 

born  in  Germany,  the  father  near  Duesseldorf.  He  emigrated  to  America  in 
the  forties,  first  located  in  Philadelphia,  but  later  he  went  to  Cincinnati  where 
he  worked  as  brewmaster  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  He  then  bought  an 
interest  in  a  brewery  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  afterwards  returning  to 
Cincinnati  where  he  acted  as  brewmaster  again.  In  1859  he  purchased  a 
brewery  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  which  he  conducted  in  such  a  manner  as  to  gain 
an  ample  competency,  being  able  to  retire  from  active  life  in  1871.  His 
death  occurred  on  July  4,  1880.  Catherine  Hauck  was  born  in  Bavaria  and 
came  to  America  some  two  years  after  Anthony  Blistain  arrived ;  her  death 
occurred  in  1875. 

June  30,  1880.  Joseph  Blistain  was  united  in  marriage  with  Amelia  M. 
Bohrer,  daughter  of  George  A.  Bohrer,  president  of  the  brewing  company 
described  in  a  preceding  paragraph.  He  was  born  in  Bavaria,  December  i, 
1819,  and  married  Caroline  Newman,  a  native  of  north  Germany,  born  March 
15,  1827.  Their  wedding,  however,  took  place  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1849, 
in  which  city  they  lived  for  twenty-two  years.  The  parents  of  each  of  these 
parties  came  to  America  in  an  early  day.  George  A.  Bohrer  landed  in  New 
Orleans  and  came  by  boat  up  the  Mississippi  river  to  Cincinnati;  he  was 
eleven  years  of  age  and  was  accompanied  by  his  older  brother.  Being  of  an 
industrious  turn  of  mind,  he  first  learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker,  and  later 
worked  in  the  grocery  business,  also  at  undertaking  and  the  livery  business 
in  Cincinnati.  He  came  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  in  1872,  and  began  in  the 
brewery  business,  finally  buying  out  the  interest  of  a  Mr.  Herbert  of  the  firm 
of  Newman  &  Herbert  Brewing  Company. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  A.  Bohrer  eight  children  were  born,  five  sons. 
and  three  daughters — all  born  in  Cincinnati.  Four  of  the  number  are  now 
living.  The  children  in  order  of  birth  are :  George  H.,  Mrs.  John  W.  Flete- 
meyer,  Charles  J..  Edward  F.,  Albert  F.,  deceased;  Mrs.  Joseph  Blistain, 
deceased;  Mrs.  Louisa  Spring,  deceased;  William,  deceased.  The  death  of 
Mrs.  Joseph  Blistain  occurred  on  Christmas  day.  1889.  She  was  a  fond 
mother  and  an  excellent  woman,  whom  everybody  admired  for  her  congenial- 
ity and  kindness.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Blistain  four  children  were  born,, 
of  whom  one  died  in  childhood ;  the  three  living  are :  Erna,  wife  of  Alvin 
Bodemer.  of  Cincinnati,  where  Mr.  Bodemer  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
paper  bags,  and  the  wholesale  paper  business,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Diem 
&  Wing  Paper  Company.  William  Blistain  is  bookkeeper  in  the  brewery  of 
which  his  father  is  treasurer.  George  A.  Blistain,  the  youngest  son,  graduated 
from  Purdue  University  in  1909,  having  completed  the  course  in  mechanical, 
engineering. 


552  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Mr.  Blistain  is  a  member  of  the  United  Ancient  Order  of  Druids,  Wal- 
halla  Grove,  No.  12,  and  Lafayette  Lodge,  No.  143,  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  Republican  and  served  one  term  as  a  member 
of  the  city  council,  elected  1902. 

Personally,  Mr.  Blistain  is  a  man  of  pleasing  address,  always  kind,  cour- 
teous, obliging,  yet  straightforward,  tactful,  business-like,  and  a  man  in  whom 
the  utmost  confidence  may  be  reposed,  according  to  those  who  know  him  best, 
for  his  character  is  exemplary  and  he  holds  high  rank  in  both  business  and 
social  circles  of  Lafayette. 


SENATOR  WILLLAM  R.  WOOD. 

In  touching  upon  the  life  history  of  Senator  William  R.  Wood,  there  is 
no  desire  to  employ  fulsome  encomium  and  extravagant  praise;  yet  the 
biographer  will  endeavor  to  hold  up  for  consideration  those  facts  which  show 
the  distinction  of  a  useful  and  honorable  life.  To  do  this  will  be  but  to  reiter- 
ate the  dictum  pronounced  upon  the  man  by  those  who  have  known  him  long 
and  well.  To  have  served  his  fellow-citizens  in  one  office  for  a  longer  period 
than  any  other  man  has  done  in  the  history  of  the  state,  and  to  have  been 
retained  in  that  office  by  the  votes  of  the  people  who  best  know  him,  is  indeed 
a  distinction  of  which  any  man  would  have  just  reason  to  be  proud.  To  have 
practiced  his  profession  in  one  community  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury and  during  these  years  to  have  grown  constantly  in  the  esteem  of  his 
professional  brethren  and  in  the  respect  of  the  people  generally,  is  irrefutable 
evidence  of  the  ability  and  sterling  worth  of  the  man.  In  these  respects,  as 
well  as  in  all  other  lines  of  activity  in  which  Senator  Wood  has  been  inter- 
ested, he  has  exhibited  qualities  which  have  given  him  an  enviable  standing  in 
the  community. 

Senator  William  R.  Wood  is  a  Hoosier  by  nativity,  having  been  born 
in  Oxford,  Benton  county,  Indiana,  January  5,  1861.  He  is  a  son  of  Robert 
and  Matilda  (Hickman)  Wood,  the  former  for  many  years  a  well-known 
and  honored  citizen  of  Oxford  where  he  successfully  conducted  a  harness 
business.  Their  son,  William  R..  spent  his  boyhood  days  much  like  other 
boys  of  his  time,  working  on  the  farm  during  the  summer  months  and  attend- 
ing the  common  schools  in  the  winter  time.  When  fourteen  years  of  age  he 
decided  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father  and  began  learning  the  harness- 
maker's  trade  in  the  latter's  shop.  This,  however,  soon  proved  to  be  not  in 
line  with  the  yearnings  of  his  heart,  and  all  his  spare  time  was  devoted  to 


"  V  ->  ^^  i^-ai^-,^  ^^^^  A/^ 


^g^ 


^^^^^^ 


TU'PECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  553 

Study  and  preparation  for  a  professional  career.  He  was  an  indefatigable 
reader  and  thoughtful  student,  and  before  he  had  attained  his  majority  he 
was  enrolled  in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1882,  having  made  a  splendid  record  for  scholar- 
ship in  that  institution. 

Immediately  upon  his  graduation,  William  R.  Wood  came  to  Lafayette, 
Indiana,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession.  He  was  first  asso- 
ciated with  Capt.  De\\'itt  C.  Wallace,  but  this  partnership  was  dissolved  within 
two  years,  and  Mr.  Wood  then  entered  into  a  professional  alliance  with 
Capt.  William  H.  Bryan,  and  this  relation  was  maintained  until  1890,  when 
the  former  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  twenty-third  judicial  circuit 
as  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party.  His  performance  of  the  duties  of 
the  office  was  marked  by  efificiency  of  a  high  order,  and  at  the  close  of  his 
first  term  he  was  again  elected,  serving  two  full  terms.  In  1894  the  subject 
was  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  for  congressman  in  the  Republican  nomi- 
nating convention  and  several  times  during  the  progress  of  the  ballots  he 
came  within  five  votes  of  the  nomination.  Eighty-seven  ballots  were  taken, 
the  nomination  finally  going  to  J.  Frank  Hanly.  It  was  largely  through  the 
action  of  Senator  Wood  in  throwing  the  votes  of  some  of  his  supporters  to 
Mr.  Hanly  that  the  latter  was  nominated. 

After  Mr.  Hanly's  return  from  congress,  he  and  Senator  Wood  formed 
a  law  partnership,  the  combination  proving  to  be  one  of  unusual  strength, 
the  firm  soon  taking  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Tippecanoe  county  bar. 
This  professional  association  was  maintained  seven  years,  or  until  1904,  when 
Mr.  Hanly  was  elected  governor  of  Indiana  and  removed  to  Indianapolis, 
since  which  time  Senator  \\'ood  has  been  alone  in  the  practice. 

It  was  in  1896  that  the  Republican  party  selected  William  R.  Wood  for 
state  senator,  and  at  the  ensuing  election  he  received  a  handsome  majority 
of  votes,  and  he  entered  at  once  into  his  legislative  duties  with  an  earnest- 
ness and  zeal  that  commended  him  to  the  voters  of  his  district.  He  was  not 
in  any  sense  a  "grand-stand  player,"  but  he  accomplished  things,  and  this 
habit  of  doing  things  has  stuck  to  him  all  through  his  public  and  professional 
life.  So  strongly  did  he  impress  his  constituents  that  they  have  returned 
him  to  the  state  senate  at  each  subsequent  election,  so  that  at  the  expiration 
of  his  present  term  he  will  have  served  fourteen  consecutive  years  as  senator. 
This  is  a  record  that  has  never  been  equaled  in  that  body  in  the  history  of  the 
state  and  is  certainly  a  marked  testimonial  to  the  character  of  the  man.  Dur- 
ing this  period  Senator  Wood  has  twice  served  as  president  pro  tem.  of  the 
senate.    Among  the  many  successful  measures  introduced  and  championed  by 


554  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

him  in  the  state  senate  was  the  bill  for  the  appropriation  and  erection  of 
the  handsome  monument  on  the  Tippecanoe  battlefield. 

Senator  \\'ood  enjoys  a  large  and  lucrative  law  practice,  being  one  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  Tippecanoe  county  bar,  and  he  has  been  engaged 
in  many  of  the  most  important  cases  which  have  been  tried  here.  In  dis- 
cussions of  the  principles  of  law,  he  is  noted  for  clearness  of  statement  and 
candor  and  his  zeal  for  a  client  never  leads  him  to  urge  an  argument  which, 
in  his  judgment,  is  not  in  harmony  with  the  law,  and  in  all  the  important  liti- 
gation with  which  he  has  been  connected  no  one  has  ever  charged  him  with 
anything  calculated  to  bring  discredit  upon  himself  or  cast  a  reflection  upon 
his  profession.  As  an  effective  and  forceful  speaker.  Senator  Wood's  remarks 
always  demand  attention,  whether  he  is  in  the  legislative  hall  or  the  court 
room.  He  has  prospered  by  reason  of  his  close  application  to  business,  and 
aside  from  his  professional  duties  he  has  a  number  of  interests  that  claim  his 
attention,  being  a  director  in  the  City  National  Bank,  also  a  director  of  the 
Tippecanoe  Land  and  Trust  Company,  being  the  attorney  for  each,  and  he  is 
one  of  the  principal  stockholders  in  the  American  National  Bank ;  he  is  also 
interested  in  the  Tippecanoe  Securities  Company,  being  the  general  attorney 
for  the  same;  this  is  one  of  the  largest  insurance  agency  companies  in  the 
state.  He  is  a  director  and  stockholder  in  the  Lafayette  Telephone  Company; 
also  the  Kern  Packing  Company  and  is  its  attorney. 

In  1883  Senator  Wood  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  Elizabeth 
Geiger,  of  Lafayette,  the  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Rachael  (McCombs) 
Geiger.  Frederick  Geiger  was  the  pioneer  miller  of  Lafayette,  having  oper- 
ated the  old  Star  City  Flouring  Mill,  the  products  of  which  were  shipped 
principally  to  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  other  eastern  points  by  canal.  Mrs.  Geiger 
was  one  of  the  first  white  children  born  in  Tippecanoe  county,  and  during 
her  life  she  witnessed  the  erection  of  three  court  houses  in  Lafayette,  the  first 
one  having  been  built  of  logs. 

Senator  Wood  takes  an  abiding  interest  in  fraternal  affairs.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has  taken  the  degrees  up  to  and 
including  those  of  Knight  Templar,  holding  the  latter  relation  in  Lafayette 
Commandery,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks.  The  Senator  possesses  a  genial  disposition  and  makes  friends  easily. 
He  enjoys  probably  the  widest  acquaintance  among  the  voters  of  the  county 
of  any  of  our  public  men,  and  he  is  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him, 
regardless  of  political  or  other  distinctions.  Senator  Wood's  family  on  both 
sides  are  Methodi.sts  in  their  church  relations. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  555 


JOB  HAIGH  VAN  NATTA. 

It  is  a  pleasing  as  well  as  an  interesting  task  to  place  on  record  the 
career  of  a  man  who  has  been  so  long  and  so  actively  identified  with  the 
development  and  progress  of  Tippecanoe  county  as  the  distinguished  citizen 
whose  name  introduces  this  article,  and  who  holds  worthy  prestige  among 
■those  to  whom  this  highly  famed  section  of  Indiana  is  so  greatly  indebted  for 
its  advancement  and  prosperity. 

Job  Haigh  Van  Natta  is  not  only  widely  known  and  universally  esteemed, 
but  ever  since  becoming  an  inHuential  factor  in  civic  matters  his  name  has 
passed  current  for  all  that  is  upright  and  honorable  and  he  stands  today  a 
conspicuous  figure  in  a  community  long  distinguished  for  the  ability,  moral 
worth  and  successful  achievements  of  its  representative  men  of  affairs.  A 
native  of  Indiana,  he  was  born  January  27,  1833,  in  Tippecanoe  county,  being 
a  son  of  John  S.  and  Sarah  A.  (Haigh)  Van  Natta,  who  were  among  the 
early  settlers  near  the  village  of  Otterbein  and  who  also  ranked  high  as  intel- 
ligent, enterprising  and  influential  members  of  the  community  which  they 
helped  establish. 

The  Van  Nattas  moved  to  Indiana  from  Ohio,  but  originally  lived  in 
New  Jersey  where,  in  1801,  John  S.  Van  Natta  was  born.  His  father 
was  Gilbert  Van  Natta,  who  was  born  in  1772  and  who  married  in  his 
young  manhood  a  Miss  Senteny  and  who,  for  a  number  of  years  thereafter, 
resided  near  the  city  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  where  he  followed  the  vocation 
of  farming.  When  their  son  was  quite  small,  his  parents  moved  to  Mays- 
ville,  Kentucky,  where  the  lad  spent  his  boyhood,  and  later  they  changed 
their  residence  to  Ohio  where,  in  due  time,  John  Senteny  Van  Natta  united 
in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Wilson,  whose  first  husband  had  died  a  few 
years  previously,  leaving  her  with  three  children  to  support.  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  all  these  children  grew  up  to  be  honorable  men  and  women  and 
dignified  their  respective  stations  in  life.  One  of  them,  Hon.  John  T.  Wilson, 
a  man  of  high  standing  and  widely  known  in  political  circles,  represented 
one  of  the  Ohio  districts  in  congress,  and  also  endowed  in  Adams  county, 
where  he  lived,  a  home  for  those  whom  age  and  infirmity  rendered  incapable 
of  caring  for  themselves ;  Spencer  Wilson,  another  son,  became  an  extensive 
landowner  in  Iowa,  and  a  very  wealthy  man,  while  a  third,  a  daughter,  mar- 
ried Walter  Moore  and  lived  for  a  number  of  years  in  Shelby  township.  Tip- 
pecanoe county,  where  she  reared  a  large  family. 

The  maiden  name  of  Mrs.  Wilson  was  Sarah  A.  Haigh ;  she  was  born 


556  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

in  England  and  when  six  years  old  came  to  America  with  her  parents,  her 
father  being  Job  Haigh,  an  expert  cabinetmaker,  who  was  employed  for 
some  time  on  the  construction  of  the  capitol  building  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton. The  marriage  of  John  Senteny  Van  Natta  and  Sarah  A.  Wilson,  which 
took  place  about  the  year  1820,  resulted  in  three  children,  Aaron,  Rachel  and 
Maria,  all  torn  while  the  parents  lived  in  Ohio.  In  1829,  the  family  moved 
overland  in  a  four-horse  wagon  to  Indiana,  and  settled  in  Shelby  township, 
Tippecanoe  county,  where  Mr.  Van  Natta  entered  two  hundred  acres  of  public 
land,  to  which  he  added  from  time  to  time  until  he  finally  became  the  possessor 
of  about  four  hundred  acres,  the  greater  part  of  which  he  cleared,  reduced 
to  cultivation  and  converted  into  a  fine  farm.  Three  sons,  William  S.,  Job 
H.  and  James  G.,  were  born  after  the  family  settled  in  Tippecanoe  county 
and  their  early  lives  were  closely  interwoven  with  the  community  in  which 
they  first  saw  the  light  of  day. 

Maria  J.,  the  third  daughter,  first  became  the  wife  of  John  Bigger  and 
later  married  John  W.  Fisher,  a  prosperous  farmer  near  Battle  Ground,  where 
she  still  resides,  having  reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-two  years,  and 
retaining  to  a  marked  degree  the  possession  of  her  bodily  and  mental  powers. 
Another  daughter,  Rachel,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty  years.  William  S.  Van 
Natta.  who  lives  at  Fowler,  is  an  extensive  landowner,  an  enterprising  and 
wealthy  farmer  and  the  head  of  a  large  family,  all  of  his  children  being 
well-to-do  and  highly  esteemed  in  their  respective  places  of  residence. 

Job  H.  Van  Natta.  who  has  spent  his  entire  life  of  seventy-six  years 
near  the  place  of  his  birth,  is  perhaps  the  oldest  native  citizen  of  Tippecanoe 
county  at  the  present  time.  He  was  reared  to  agricultural  pursuits  on  the 
family  homestead  near  Otterbein,  grew  to  the  full  stature  of  rugged,  well- 
rounded  manhood  with  a  proper  conception  of  life  and  its  responsibilities  and 
on  attaining  his  majority  purchased  a  quarter  section  of  land  northeast  of 
Otterbein,  which  he  fenced  and  broke  and  in  due  time  had  the  greater  part 
in  a  successful  state  of  cultivation.  There  being  no  sawmills  in  the  locality 
at  that  time  he  was  obliged  to  go  to  Crawfordsville  for  the  lumber  with 
which  to  enclose  the  part  of  his  land  intended  for  tillage.  The  dealer  giving 
him  choice  between  walnut  and  poplar  at  the  same  price  he  chose  the  latter 
because  of  its  being  lighter  and  more  easily  hauled,  thus  saving  at  least  one 
trip  over  the  long  and  illy  constructed  roads,  but  little  realizing  the  loss  he 
.sustained  in  the  transaction. 

By  dint  of  hard  lalx)r  and  continuous  toil  Mr.  Van  Natta  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  reclaiming  the  greater  part  of  his  land  and  making  one  of  the 
l->est  farms  and  one  of  the  most  l>eautiful  and  desirable  rural  homes  in  the 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  557 

county.  No  sooner  had  he  gotten  his  affairs  in  a  condition  to  live  easily 
and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  struggles  and  toil  than  the  national  horizon  became 
overcast  by  the  ominous  clouds  of  impending  civil  war.  A  lover  of  country 
and  loyal  in  all  the  term  implies,  he  made  ready  to  take  part  in  the  conflict 
as  soon  as  it  should  be  precipitated.  When  the  clouds  finally  burst  and  the 
stern  call  came  he  was  among  the  first  men  in  Tippecanoe  county  to  tender 
his  services  to  the  government,  enlisting  in  September,  1861,  in  the  Tenth 
Regiment  Indiana  A^olunteer  Infantry,  and  being  elected  first  lieutenant  upon 
the  organization  of  Company  D,  to  which  he  belonged.  Mr.  Van  Natta 
was  not  long  in  proceeding  to  the  front  and  during  the  years  which  followed 
he  rendered  faithful  and  efficient  service  in  some  of  the  most  noted  campaigns 
and  many  of  the  bloodiest  battles  of  the  war,  sharing  with  his  comrades  all 
the  vicissitudes  in  which  his  command  took  part,  and  proving  under  all  cir- 
cumstances a  brave  and  gallant  soldier  who  shrank  from  no  danger  nor  hesi- 
tated to  go  wherever  duty  called.  Among  the  first  battles  in  which  he  was 
engaged  was  Mill  Springs,  Kentucky,  where  a  musket  ball  passed  through  his 
cap ;  from  there  he  returned  with  the  army  to  Louisville  preparatory  to  moving 
against  the  enemy  farther  south.  Taking  boats  at  that  city,  the  force  pro- 
ceeded to  Nashville,  Tennessee,  thence  marched  to  Pittsburg  Landing  in 
time  to  participate  in  the  second  day's  battle,  with  Buell's  command.  For 
brave  and  meritorious  conduct  on  that  bloody  field,  Mr.  Van  Natta  was 
promoted  captain  March  20,  1862,  in  which  capacity  he  led  his  men  against 
the  enemy  at  Corinth,  where  he  distinguished  himself  at  the  head  of  six  com- 
panies, four  infantry  and  two  of  cavalry,  and  added  to  his  already  well-estab- 
lished reputation  as  an  intrepid  though  careful  and  judicious  officer.  For  his 
conduct  in  the  latter  action  he  was  highly  praised  by  his  brigade  commander, 
General  Steadman,  and,  for  duty  ably  and  gallantly  performed,  he  was  made 
major  of  the  regiment  November  18,  1862,  which  position  he  held  until 
commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  September  21,  1863,  by  Governor  Morton, 
for  especially  brilliant  service  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

From  Corinth  the  Federal  forces  marched  to  Tuscumbia,  Alal)ama.  but 
being  threatened  in  the  rear  by  General  Bragg  they  returned  to  Louisville, 
thence  proceeded  to  Perryville  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  sanguinary  engage- 
ment near  that  place.  From  Perryville.  the  march  was  continued  to  Lafayette, 
Georgia,  with  a  number  of  skirmishes  and  se\-eral  battles  on  the  way,  but 
the  movement  of  Longstreet,  whose  aim  was  to  move  his  corps  from  the 
Potomac  so  as  to  form  a  junction  with  the  western  army  under  the  command 
of  Bragg,  caused  the  Federals  tn  he  hurried  by  a  fnrced  march  ti>  Chicka- 
mauga.    .\rriving  at  the  latter  place  Colonel  Croxton.  who  commanded  the 


558  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

brigade,  ordered  Major  Van  Natta  to  take  command  of  the  skirmish  line  and 
bring  on  an  engagement,  which  was  done  in  due  order.  At  first  it  was  thought 
the  enemy  had  but  a  small  force  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  with  a  bridge 
burned  liehind  them,  but  as  Major  Van  Natta  developed  their  true  position 
it  was  learned,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  the  Union  troops,  that  what  was 
supposed  to  be  a  small  force  was  the  entire  Confederate  army  in  readiness 
for  battle. 

The  battle  of  Chickamauga,  one  of  the  hardest  and  bloodiest  of  the  war, 
need  not  here  be  described.  Suffice  it  to  state,  however,  that  the  regiment 
to  which  Major  Van  Natta  belonged  displayed  the  most  gallant  and  determined 
courage  on  that  awful  day,  and  of  his  former  company  fully  one-half  were 
killed  and  wounded,  other  commands  suffering  in  like  manner.  The  Major 
and  his  gallant  men  performed  prodigies  of  valor  against  overwhelming  odds, 
and  in  the  leading  of  a  forlorn  hope  he  displayed  a  brilliancy  of  leadership 
and  at  the  same  time  a  wise  discretion  that,  as  already  indicated,  led  to 
his  being  commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regiment  by  the  war  governor 
of  Indiana,  a  short  time  after  the  battle  was  fought.  The  retreat  from  the 
field  of  Chickamauga  to  Chattanooga,  where  the  Federals  took  a  position  with 
the  river  behind  them  on  the  west,  with  Lookout  mountain  rising  from  the 
river  on  the  south,  a  gap  of  one  mile  from  the  mountain  to  Missionary  Ridge, 
which  stretched  around  the  troops  north,  then  northwest  to  the  river ;  on  the 
mountain  and  the  ridge  the  Confederate  forces  in  battle  array  awaited  the 
onset,  but  the  capture  of  the  mountains  by  strategy  and  the  resistless  charge 
to  and  up  over  the  ridge,  during  which  thousands  of  brave  men  fell  a  sacri- 
fice to  the  awful  moloch  of  war,  the  precipitate  retreat  of  the  Confederates, 
the  shouts  of  victory  by  the  elated  hosts  of  the  North — all  have  been  told  and 
retold  until  the  history  of  that  terrible  struggle  has  become  as  familiar  as 
a  household  tale. 

In  (leneral  Thomas'  command,  fighting  with  his  wounded  arm  in  a  sling. 
Major  Van  Natta  stood  for  some  time  facing  Missionarv  Ridge  and  when 
the  center  charged  without  orders  he  was  among  the  first  to  ascend  the 
declivity,  in  the  face  of  a  murderous  fire,  and  to  him  belongs  no  little  of  the 
credit  of  inspiring  his  men  in  a  situation  which  has  no  parallel  in  the  annals  of 
warfare.  After  the  capture  of  Missionary  Ridge."  the  Major  marched  with 
Sherman  through  Georgia  to  Atlanta  and  participated  in  several  sanguinary 
battles  which  led  to  the  reduction  of  that  noted  stronghold,  including  among 
others  those  of  Peachtree  Creek,  Buzzard  Roost,  and  Resaca ;  in  fact,  he  was 
under  almost  continuous  fire  until  the  city  fell  and  Georgia  ixissed  from  Con- 
federate to  Federal  control.     At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  he  was 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  559 

discharged  September  19,  1864.  witli  an  honorable  record,  one  of  which  any 
bra\e  defender  of  his  country  might  well  feel  proud,  and  returning  home  he 
resumed  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  civil  life  at  Lafayette,  with  the  material 
interests  of  which  prosperous  city  he  has  since  been  largely  identified. 

For  about  twenty  years  Mr.  Van  Natta  was  associated  with  his  brother 
in  the  cattle  business  at  Lafayette,  buying  and  shipping  to  the  leading  eastern 
markets,  and  consigning  every  week  from  twenty  to  thirty  car  loads  and 
frequently  handling  considerably  in  excess  of  those  figures.  The  enterprise 
proved  successful  beyond  their  most  ardent  expectations  and  on  retiring  from 
business  they  each  possessed  a  fortune  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  make  them 
independent  and  earn  for  them  prominent  positions  among  the  financially 
strong  and  reliable  men  of  Lafayette  and  the  county  of  Tippecanoe. 

Mr.  Van  Natta  has  large  and  valuable  tracts  of  land  in  the  county 
besides  real  estate  in  the  city  of  his  residence  and  elsewhere,  owning  eight 
hundred  acres  of  fine  land  north  of  Battle  Ground,  the  greater  part  under 
cultivation  and  otherwise  highly  improved.  He  also  has  six  hundred  acres 
near  Otterbein  and  seven  hundred  acres  in  LaGrange  county,  all  very  valu- 
able, and  in  addition  to  these  interests  he  is  a  stockholder  and  director  of  the 
Merchants"  National  Bank  of  Lafayette,  owns  stock  in  the  Lafayette  Loan 
and  Trust  Company,  of  which  he  is  also  a  director,  besides  holding  large 
interests  in  the  Lafayette  Savings  Bank,  of  which  he  is  a  trustee,  and  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Boswell  and  the  State  Bank  of  Otterbein,  being  presi- 
dent of  the  last  two  institutions. 

Mr.  Van  Natta  has  always  kept  pace  with  the  times  not  only  in  business 
matters  but  in  public  affairs,  and  a  number  of  enterprises  which  have  made 
for  the  material  progress  and  general  welfare  of  Lafa\-ette  and  Tippecanoe 
county  have  profited  by  his  counsel  and  advice.  For  many  years  he  has  been 
a  trustee  of  Purdue  University  and,  like  all  public-spirited  men  of  the  city, 
he  has  never  permitted  his  interest  in  this  splendid  institution  to  wane  nor 
been  lacking  in  his  duty  to  other  means  for  the  intellectual  advancement  of  the 
community  honored  by  his  citizenship.  His  heart  and  hand  have  been  seen 
and  felt  in  nearly  every  institution  and  movement  that  has  for  its  purpose 
the  benefit  and  uplift  of  his  fellowmen,  and  his  friendships,  always  constant, 
zealous  and  reliable,  have  given  him  an  influence  such  as  few  exercise. 

^Ir.  Van  Natta,  on  October  10,  1866,  contracted  a  marriage  with  Harriet 
Barnes,  daughter  of  Samuel  Barnes  (see  sketch  of  Thomas  J.  Barnes),  which 
union  has  been  blessed  with  six  children,  viz. :  Blanche,  wife  of  Augustus 
Ruffner,  of  Chicago,  and  the  mother  of  a  son  named  Henr)-  Van  Natta 
Ruffner;  J.  Lynn  Van  Natta,  present  treasurer  of  Tippecanoe  county:  Samuel 


560  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Gilbert,  a  wealthy  cattleman  of  Texas ;  Louise,  now  Mrs.  George  E.  Baldwin, 
of  Seattle,  Washington;  John  W.,  who  is  interested  with  his  brother  in  Texas, 
and  Nancy,  who  is  a  member  of  the  home  circle.  Mr.  Van  Natta  is  above 
the  average  height,  tall  and  of  gentlemanly  bearing,  courteous  in  his  relations 
with  his  fellowmen  and  generous  and  kind  to  all.  His  tastes  are  largely 
domestic  and  he  finds  his  keenest  enjoyment  in  his  home  and  with  his  family 
in  whom  he  manifests  a  pardonable  and  well-deserved  pride. 


ZEBULOX  BAIRD. 

Zebulon  Baird  was  of  Scotch  descent,  born  in  New  Jersey  and  reared 
and  educated  in  Ohio;  but  forty  years  of  his  manhood,  with  their  record  of 
honorable  achievement,  belong  to  Indiana.  His  great-grandfather,  John 
Baird,  was  the  Scottish  ancestor  who  came  to  America  in  1683  and,  although 
a  lad  under  the  age  of  twenty,  purchased  a  goodly  tract  of  land  at  Marlboro, 
Monmouth  county.  New  Jersey,  and  proceeded  to  erect  a  homestead.  This 
quaint  old  house  is  still  standing — an  interesting  structure  of  the  early  colonial 
type.  John  Baird  married,  and  his  descendants  were  men  of  large  landed  inter- 
ests and  social  consequence. 

The  second  generation  of  American  Bairds  became  connected  with 
another  of  New  Jersey's  substantial  families — one  of  political  prominence  in 
colonial  times — by  the  marriage  of  James  Baird  and  Deliverance  Bowne. 
These  were  the  parents  of  the  subject,  who  thus  drew  directly  from  two 
family  founts  of  ability  and  virtue.  Zebulon  Baird,  one  of  six  children,  was 
born  December  21,  181 7.  Soon  after  his  birth,  his  parents  left  their  New 
Jersey  home  and  settled  upon  a  farm  in  Warren  county,  Ohio.  Here  Zebulon 
grew  and  studied.  His  schoolhouse  was  a  log  cabin,  but  his  instructor  was  a 
man  of  practical  attainments  and  classical  culture,  and,  like  the  Bairds,  a 
stanch  Scotch  Presbyterian.  Zebulon  was  early  ready  for  collegiate  work, 
ami  duly  entered  Miami  University,  of  which  Robert  H.  Bishop  was  then 
president.  His  college  course  completed,  he  liegan  the  study  of  law  under 
Governor  Thomas  Corwin  at  Lebanon,  and  in  the  spring  of  1838  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Ohio;  a  few  months  later  he  began  practice  at  Lafay- 
ette. Indiana,  in  partnership  with  Judge  Ingram,  a  veteran  in  the  legal  field. 
Mr.  Baird  was  markedly  of  the  student  type.  To  absorb  and  systematize  truth 
for  practical  use  was  with  him  a  natural  mental  function.  His  classical 
knowledge  was  the  wonder,  admiration  and  reference  fund  of  his  associates. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  56I 

He  loved  his  profession  for  itself,  without  regard  to  the  financial  rewards 
of  success  or  political  prestige.  Yet,  still  more  did  he  love  his  country  and 
the  cause  of  liberty,  and  when  the  Civil  war  came  on  he  entered  service  as 
captain  under  General  Milroy.  During  his  army  experience  he  met  with  an 
adventure  which  promised  to  be  more  serious  than  it  proved.  It  was  at  the 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run.  Unknown  to  him,  the  Union  forces  had  beaten  a 
retreat,  he  being  engaged  at  the  time  in  carrying  orders.  Unconscious  of 
his  peril,  he  rode  into  the  picket  lines  of  the  enemy  where  he  was  quickly 
captured,  and  he  subsequently  was  made  an  inmate  of  that  historic  horror, 
Libby  Prison.  Unlike  the  fate  of  so  many  of  his  fellow-victims,  he  was  soon 
released,  on  exchange,  and  the  sequel  to  this  prison  episode  wears  a  tinge  of 
less  gloomy  romance.  He  had  at  that  time  a  case  pending  in  the  United 
States  supreme  court,  and  as  the  city  of  Washington  lay  in  the  line  of  his 
journey  from  Libby  Prison  to  his  new  post  of  duty  to  which  he  was  assigned, 
he  took  advantage  of  this  opportunity  to  plead  his  cause.  He  addressed  the 
court  in  his  officer's  uniform,  and  the  interest  awakened  by  the  novel  appear- 
ance of  the  military  advocate  was  deepened  into  profound  attention  by  the 
force  of  his  oratory.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  plea,  he  was  the  recipient  of 
much  gratulation,  and  one  of  the  justices  was  led  facetiously  to  wonder  what 
might  not  be  expected  of  generals  when  captains  could  argue  so  well.  The 
rigors  of  military  life  told  severely  upon  the  slender  constitution  of  Captain 
Baird,  and  a  short  time  before  the  declaration  of  peace  he  was  obliged  to 
resign  his  commission.  Returning  home,  he  devoted  himself  to  professional 
work  and  in  the  few  remaining  years  of  his  life  he  earned  a  reputation  in 
Indiana  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  thoroughly  equipped  lawyers  of  its  bar. 
His  intellectual  talents  were  of  the  highest  order,  yet  he  did  not  rely  upon 
those  talents  for  his  success,  as  so  many  similarly  gifted  would  have  done. 
His  early  mental  discipline  had  been  most  excellent,  and  throughout  his 
professional  career  he  was  a  close  and  conscientious  student  of  his  cases.  The 
philosophy  of  law  was  his  delight,  and  in  the  consideration  of  legal  proposi- 
tions he  dwelt  upon  principles  rather  than  precedents,  but  he  never  neglected 
to  inform  himself  on  the  law  of  his  cases,  and  if  precedent  became  imperative,, 
he  was  always  prepared  to  apply  it  with  his  characteristic  skill.  His  thorough 
acquaintance  with  fundamental  principles  and  his  acute  analytical  power  made 
him  quick  to  detect  a  weakness  or  fallacy  in  an  argument,  and  he  was  a 
formidable  antagonist;  yet  his  self-control  was  superb  and  his  courtesy  to 
adversaries,  as  well  as  to  court  and  jury,  unvarying.  He  was  a  man  of  pure 
and  lofty  ideals,  to  which  he  was  never  for  a  moment  oblivious.  Joseph  E. 
McDonald,  formerly  United  States  senator  from  Indiana,  read  law  in  the 
(36) 


562  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

office  of  Mr.  Baird,  and  the  success  which  he  later  won,  both  as  an  attorney 
and  pohtician,  he  attributed  to  the  splendid  training  he  had  received  from  his 
legal  patron,  whom  he  declared  to  be  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  ever  produced 
by  the  state  of  Indiana.  Nor  was  he  unsupported  by  the  profession  in  his 
high  estimate  of  Mr.  Baird.  In  "Sketches  of  the  Old  Indiana  Supreme  Court 
Bar,"  by  Gen.  John  Coburn,  Zebulon  Baird  is  accredited  with  his  many  super- 
ior abilities,  which  are  finally  epitomized  in  these  words:  "He  was  well 
matched  with  the  best  lawyers  on  the  Wabash,  and  in  any  English-speaking 
court  would  have  ranked  among  the  highest."  In  person,  Mr.  Baird  was  a 
type  almost  feminine  in  its  delicacy.  His  features  were  fine  and  clearly  cut ; 
his  blue  eyes  mild ;  his  pale  face  vitalized  with  thought.  He  was  one  of  those 
rare  personalities  from  which  all  grosser  elements  seem  refined  away,  until 
the  intellectual  and  spiritual  being  stands  out  in  bold  relief.  The  contempla- 
tion of  such  men,  frail  in  physique,  yet  pronounced  in  character  and  sensibility, 
is  reassuring  to  religious  faith,  making  easier  the  conception  of  a  future  state 
in  which  the  individuality  shall  appear  unchanged,  only  more  clearly  and 
purely  defined  in  its  freedom  from  the  mortal  clod. 

Mr.  Baird  was  married  on  January  22,  1839,  to  Martha  M.  Probasco, 
whose  father  was  the  late  Rev.  John  Probasco,  of  Lebanon,  Ohio.  Five  chil- 
dren were  born  of  this  union.  Mr.  Baird  died  January  29,  1877.  and  his 
widow  on  the  22d  of  June.  1898. 


LEE  HARRY  MORGAN. 

Among  the  younger  coterie  of  business  men  of  Lafayette  and  one  who  is 
rapidly  pushing  his  way  to  the  front  by  means  of  fidelity  to  his  chosen  work 
and  by  a  determined  energy  that  knows  no  flagging  until  whatever  task  he  has 
in  hand  is  finished,  is  Lee  H.  Morgan,  the  scion  of  as  worthy  ancestors  as  any- 
one can  claim.  He  was  bom  in  Farmington,  Fulton  county,  Illinois,  May  25, 
1870,  the  son  of  George  W.  and  Martha  E.  (Warner)  Morgan.  When  Lee 
was  five  years  old  the  family  moved  to  Sidney,  Champaign  county,  Illinois, 
where  they  remained  for  eight  years,  then  moved  to  Salem,  Illinois,  the  former 
home  of  William  Jennings  Br\-an,  Mr.  Bryan  having  been  a  schoolmate  of 
Mrs.  George  W.  Morgan.  After  three  years  spent  at  Salem,  the  Morgan 
family  moved  to  Champaign.  Illinois.  At  this  place  Lee  H.  left  school,  having 
secured  a  fairly  good  text-book  training,  for  the  purpose  of  entering  the 
grocery  business,  in  which  he  remained   for  two  years.     Then  he,  together 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  563 

with  his  father  and  brother,  started  a  mattress  factory  at  Champaign,  which 
they  successfully  conducted  for  three  years,  when  the  family  moved  to  Lafay- 
ette, Indiana.  This  was  in  1900.  Lee  H.  and  his  brother  William  F.  started 
a  mattress  factory  and  carpet  cleaning  business  soon  after  they  came  to  Lafay- 
ette on  South  Sixteenth  street,  for  which  they  were  well  equipped,  consequently 
were  able  to  do  first-class  work.  Their  carpet  cleaning  is  done  in  a  large 
cylinder,  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  which  revolves  slowly;  it  is  made  of  slats, 
and  is  so  constructed  that  the  carpet  will  roll  and  fall  from  top  to  bottom,  thus 
beating  it  mechanically,  airing  it  and  removing  the  dirt.  All  the  machinery 
is  iip-to-date  and  the  very  best  work  is  turned  out  here  quickly  and  at  reason- 
able prices.  The  name  of  the  firm  was  Morgan  &  Morgan  after  they  came 
here.  After  operating  their  original  business  for  about  a  year  they  added 
furniture  upholstering  and  repairing.  In  1905  William  F.  withdrew  from  the 
business  and  Lee  H.  Morgan  still  continues  the  business  under  his  own  name. 
He  not  only  makes  new  upholstered  furniture,  but  refinishes  antique  furniture 
of  the  highest  quality.  When  this  business  was  first  started  by  the  Morgan 
brothers  in  Lafayette  they  occupied  a  room  only  twenty -two  by  fifty  feet. 
About  three  years  later  they  erected  a  large  addition,  which  they  again  en- 
larged in  1906,  the  business  having  grown  until  this  became  a  necessity.  Two 
floors  are  now  required,  thirty-three  by  ninety-six  feet  throughout.  A  number 
of  employes  are  kept  busy  turning  out  the  work,  the  business  now  covering  a 
wide  territory  and  constantly  growing. 

Lee  H.  Morgan  was  married,  June  30,  1903,  to  Rosa  Fluck,  of  Cham- 
paign, Illinois,  a  very  affable  woman,  the  representative  of  an  excellent  family. 

In  his  fraternal  relations,  Mr.  Morgan  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  lodge;  he  also  belongs  to  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In 
1905  he  erected  a  new  dwelling  just  south  of  the  factory,  which  is  modern,  con- 
venient and  attractive.  He  is  a  hard  worker,  plans  well  and  has  succeeded. 
He  always  takes  a  summer  vacation  on  the  northern  lakes  where  he  regales 
himself  hunting  and  fishing,  being  something  of  a  sportsman.  He  likes  good 
horses  and  does  considerable  driving.  He  is  obliging  and  friendly  and  a  man 
who  makes  and  retains  friends  easily. 


WILLIAM  MONHOLAN  JACKSON. 

He  whose  career  is  now  taken  under  consideration  and  to  whom  the 
reader's  attention  is  respectfully  directed,  is  numbered  among  the  progressive 
citizens  of  Lafayette  and  one  of  the  representative  men  of  Tippecanoe  county, 


564  P-'^ST    AND   PRESENT 

of  which  he  has  been  a  resident  all  his  life,  having  been  born  here,  and  he  has 
gained  prosperity  through  his  own  honest  efforts  in  connection  with  the  de- 
velopment of  the  natural  resources  and  the  subsequent  business  prosperity. 
William  M.  Jackson  first  saw  the  light  of  day  near  Quaker  Grove,  this  county, 
not  far  from  the  Montgomery  county  line,  January  23,.  1869,  the  son  of  James 
M.  and  Elizabeth  R.  (Campbell)  Jackson,  the  parents  having  come  to  Tippe- 
canoe county  in  1865  from  Gallia  county,  Ohio.  Their  son,  William  M., 
grew  up  on  the  home  farm,  which  he  worked  and  attended  the  district  schools 
in  the  meantime.  He  remained  on  the  farm  until  he  was  twenty-three  years 
old,  although  his  parents  moved  to  Lafayette  when  he  was  eighteen,  William 
M.  desiring  to  farm  with  his  brother-in-law.  Farming,  however,  soon  lost 
its  charm  for  him  and  in  1892  and  1893  he  went  into  the  grocery  business 
in  Lafayette.  Later  he  conducted  a  retail  feed  store  for  two  years.  Then 
he  worked  one  year  for  the  Western  Construction  Company  on  street  con- 
tracts. In  1900  he  began  cement  contracting  for  himself,  starting  in  a  small 
way  with  very  limited  capital,  but  a  good  credit.  He  made  bids  for  city 
work  and  got  contracts  thereby.  He  began  building  sidewalks,  then  street 
construction  and  sewers  and  bridges,  making  a  success  in  all  and  gradually 
extending  his  business  until  he  had  a  large  force  of  men  employed  and  was 
constantly  engaged  on  some  large  and  important  work.  In  1907  he  built 
South  Eighteenth  street  from  Kossuth  street  to  the  city  limits.  In  1906  the 
Lafayette  Fuel  and  Builders'  Supply  Company  was  organized  with  a  capital 
stock  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  Mr.  Jackson  was  elected  president  of  the 
same,  which  position  he  still  holds,  managing  the  affairs  of  the  company  in  a 
manner  as  to  insure  abundant  success  and  to  stamp  him  as  a  business  man  of 
no  mean  ability  and  sagacity.  In  1903  Mr.  Jackson  put  down  cement  side- 
walks and  curb  and  gutters  from  Main  street  bridge  to  Purdue  University. 
In  that  year  he  erected  his  commodious,  modern  and  beautiful  home  on  East 
Kossuth  street  where  he  now  resides.  He  works  now  principally  on  private 
construction  work,  having  become  one  of  the  most  popular  contractors  in  the 
county,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  guarantees  all  his  work  and  is  quick  to 
make  good  any  defect.  He  does  not  go  into  debt  except  as  an  investment,  and 
he  always  meets  his  obligations  promptly.  He  believes  that  hard  work  and 
good  management  will  always  win,  and  this  has  been  the  secret  of  his  large 
success.  He  deserves  a  great  deal  of  credit  for  what  he  has  done,  but  he  is 
unpretentious,  plain,  kind  and  generous. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  married  July  19.  1899.  to  Nellie  G.  Baker,  of  Lafayette. 
and  to  this  union  two  sons  have  been  born,  namelv :     Earl  Linden  and  Law- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  565 

rence  M.     The  Jackson  household  is  a  mutually  happy  and  hospitable  one, 
popular  among  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Jackson  is  a  Republican  and  is  a  member  of  the  town- 
ship advisory  board.  In  1906  he  was  nominated  by  his  party  for  township 
trustee,  but  by  reason  of  unusual  circumstances,  he  was  defeated  after  a  very 
spirited  contest.  In  his  fraternal  relations  he  is  a  member  of  Lafayette  Lodge, 
No.  123,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 


FREDERICK  DORNER. 

The  German  element  in  America's  national  life  has  contributed  much  to 
the  country's  material  prosperity,  being  felt  as  a  potential  force  along  in- 
dustrial, commercial  and  agricultural  lines,  to  say  nothing  of  the  important 
place  it  occupies  in  the  arts  and  sciences  and  its  influence  in  the  military,  edu- 
cational and  religious  circles,  as  well  as  in  the  domain  of  politics.  A  fine 
representative  of  this  nationality  is  found  in  Frederick  Dorner,  whose  name  is 
known  nationally,  having  built  up  a  lucrative  and  extensive  business  in  the 
pleasant  science  of  floriculture  in  which  he  seems  to  have  much  more  than 
ordinary  ability,  both  natural  and  cultivated,  as  we  shall  see  by  a  perusal  of  the 
following  paragraphs.  r"21'^^-^ 

Mr.  Dorner's  birth  occurred  in  Baden,  Germany,  November  29,  1837, 
the  son  of  Frederick  and  Christine  Dorner,  who  are  remembered  as  honest 
and  industrious  people,  of  the  better  class  of  Germans.  When  eighteen  years 
of  age,  Frederick  decided  that  the  great  republic  across  the  sea  held  greater 
possibilities  for  a  lad  of  his  temperament  than  his  home  land,  consequently 
he  set  sail  for  the  United  States,  coming  directly  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  where 
a  brother,  Philip,  had  previously  settled.  Since  his  arrival  here  in  1855  Fred- 
erick Dorner  has  noted  many  extensive  changes  and  played  well  his  part  in 
the  subsequent  business  expansion.  Very  early  in  life  he  was  a  lover  of 
nature,  having  something  of  the  poetic  temperament  in  that  he  loved  flowers, 
herbs,  shrubs,  etc.,  liked  to  see  them  grow  and  to  cultivate  them,  but,  unlike 
the  poet,  he  also  saw  the  great  commercial  side  of  this  prodigal  beauty  of 
plant  life  and  sought  to  turn  it  into  account,  with  the  result  that  he  began 
working  for  the  florist  Lloyd,  with  whom  he  remained  for  a  time,  then 
worked  at  other  things  until  he  had  a  start. 

On  March  2,  1861,  Mr.  Dorner  chose  a  life  partner  in  the  person  of 
Marguerita  Eihl,  daughter  of  Lawrence  Eihl,  of  Lafayette.    Her  father  after- 


566  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

wards  bought  and  operated  the  Peters  mill  on  ^^'ild  Cat  creek.  The  Eihl 
family  is  an  old  and  highly  respected  one. 

After  following  farming  for  a  time,  Mr.  Dorner,  in  1865,  went  to  Wis- 
consin where  he  followed  farming  until  1870,  in  which  year  he  returned  to 
Lafayette  and  started  a  florist  business  at  Gaasch's  Garden  on  Underwood 
street,  where  there  were  already  greenhouses,  which  he  rented.  About  1875 
he  moved  to  the  south  side  of  Indiana  avenue,  renting  ground  at  Nineteenth 
street  of  Moses  Fowler  in  what  is  now  known  at  the  Echo  addition.  Here 
he  built  a  greenhouse  and  carried  on  his  business  in  a  very  successful  manner, 
but  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Fowler  he  moved,  buying  land  of  Martin  L. 
Peirce,  consisting  of  nine  acres  on  Indiana  avenue.  This  was  in  1900,  and 
since  that  time  he  has  added  to  his  original  purchase  from  year  to  year  until 
his  holdings  at  present  are  not  only  extensive  but  very  valuable.  In  1905,  Mr. 
Dorner  purchased  twenty-four  acres  at  Twenty-fourth  street  and  Indiana 
avenue  and  built  greenhouses  there.  Mrs.  John  Heath  was  the  former  owner 
of  this  property.  When  Mr.  Dorner  started  in  business  at  Nineteenth  street 
and  the  north  side  of  Indiana  avenue  he  had  three  houses  and  about  seven 
thousand  square  feet  of  glass.  This  was  in  1890.  The  growth  of  his  busi- 
ness since  that  date  has  been  phenomenal  and  is  gradually  increasing.  He 
now  has  one  hundred  thousand  square  feet  of  glass,  and  his  residence  at 
Nineteenth  street  and  Indiana  avenue  is  one  of  the  attractive  homes  of  Lafay- 
ette, being  modern,  commodious  and  in  the  midst  of  the  most  attractive 
grounds  in  this  locality,  surrounded  by  broad  lawns,  with  winding  walks,  many 
kinds  of  rare  and  beautiful  shade  trees  surrounding  the  home,  which  in  every 
way  is  an  ideal  one.  Mr.  Dorner  has  a  down-town  office  and  retail  establish- 
ment at  No.  640  Main  street,  which  is  usually  a  busy  place.  Since  1890  he 
has  made  a  specialty  of  growing  carnations,  and  no  finer  specimens  than 
those  produced  in  his  greenhouses  are  to  be  found  anywhere ;  their  beauty  and 
quality  have  become  so  widely  known  that  his  shipments  extend  from  the 
Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  oceans.  He  has 
been  quite  successful  in  the  culture  of  new  varieties  of  this  favorite  flower. 

Thirteen  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dorner,  four  sons  and 
three  daughters  of  which  number  are  now  living,  six  having  died  in 
early  life,  three  in  infancy.  Frederick  died  when  two  years  old;  Margaret 
died  when  seven  years  of  age :  Christine  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  before 
summoned  to  the  silent  land;  those  living  are:  Fred  E..  Jr.,  married  Ida 
Prass  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children.  Dorothy  and  Fred.  Theodore 
A.  married  Lillian  Harrington,  of  Lafayette,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two 
children,  Catherine  and  Lucile.     Herman  B. :  William  Philip;  Emily  is  at 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  567 

home ;  Anna  married  Fred  E.  Hudson,  who  assists  Mr.  Dorner  in  the  green- 
house, and  he  and  his  wife  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  James  Frederick; 
Emma  married  Claude  Riddle  and  lives  in  Los  Angeles,  California ;  they  are 
the  parents  of  three  children,  George,  Margaret  and  Claude.  Fred,  Theodore, 
Emily,  Anna  and  Emma,  also  Fred  Hudson  are  stockholders  in  the  business 
conducted  by  Mr.  Dorner.  Herman  Dorner  is  professor  of  floriculture  at 
Urbana,  Illinois,  in  the  horticultural  department  of  the  college  there.  William 
Dorner  is  living  at  home  and  is  attending  Purdue  University. 

Mr.  Dorner's  business  was  incorporated  in  1896  under  the  laws  of  the 
state,  the  officers  being  as  follows:  Frederick  Dorner.  Sr.,  president;  Theo- 
dore Dorner,  vice-president;  Fred  E.  Dorner.  Jr..  secretary  and  treasurer. 

No  family  in  Lafayette  is  better  known  or  bears  a  better  reputation  than 
that  of  the  Dorners,  each  member  of  which  holds  high  rank,  both  in  business 
and  social  circles. 


JOHN     SCHXAIBLE. 

A  well-known  and  influential  business  man  in  Lafayette.  Indiana,  is 
John  Schnaible,  a  man  who  is  deserving  of  great  credit  for  what  he  has 
accomplished  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  has  been  compelled  to  overcome  in- 
numerable obstacles  that  have  thwarted  his  pathway  from  early  childhood,  but 
being  possessed  of  those  innate  characteristics  that  always  make  for  success 
despite  adversity,  he  has  pushed  aside  all  hindering  causes  that  would  have  a 
tendency  to  deflect  his  course  from  the  true  goal  he  has  sought,  and  he  is 
today  president  of  a  large  and  constantly  growing  manufacturing  concern, 
built  up  very  largely  through  his  untiring  efforts — the  M.  &  J.  Schnaible 
Company,  soap  manufacturers. 

John  Schnaible  was  born  July  30,  1837,  in  Wurttemberg,  Germany,  the 
son  of  Michael  and  Dorothea  Schnaible.  who.  in  1853,  started  from  their 
old  home  in  the  Fatherland  to  the  newer  republic  of  the  west,  and  after  a 
disastrous  voyage  of  forty-seven  days.  Mrs.  Schnaible  and  her  five  children 
landed  in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  the  father  and  one  child.  Jacob,  having 
died  on  the  way  over  of  cholera  which  invaded  the  ship,  taking  forty-seven 
of  its  passengers.  Also  a  brother  of  IMichael,  Sr.,  fell  a  victim  to  the  dread 
scourge.  The  children  who  sur\-ived  were  Margaret.  John,  George,  Michael 
and  Matt.  John  had  the  cholera  but  recovered.  Three  other  members  of 
this  family  of  Schnaible  children  had  died  before  the  family  left  Germany. 

In  February.    1854.   i\Irs.   Dorothea   Schnaible  and  her  voung  children 


568  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

penetrated  into  the  interior,  coming  to  Lafayette,  Indiana.  Their  means  hav- 
ing been  nearly  exhausted,  the  children  that  were  old  enough  to  work  sought 
employment  at  whatever  they  could  get  to  do.  Michael  found  em- 
ployment in  a  little  soap  factory  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  interesting 
and  successful  career  of  the  Schnaible  brothers  in  this  line  of  business.  His 
brother,  John,  found  employment  in  the  same  factory  in  1858.  These  brothers 
worked  hard  and  saved  their  money  until  ten  years  later.  In  1868  they  were 
enabled  to  purchase  the  plant  and  went  into  business  for  themselves  under  the 
name  of  M.  &  J.  Schnaible,  and  by  judicious  management  the  plant  has  grad- 
ually grown  until  today  its  products  are  well  known  and  eagerly  sought  after 
in  a  wide  territory,  their  plant  being  equipped  with  all  modern  appliances  and 
managed  with  a  superb  system.  It  became  necessary  for  them  to  build  a  brick 
building  in  which  to  house  their  factory.  Later  they  found  it  necessary  to 
add  on  a  large  addition.  In  the  spring  of  1899  the  business  had  been  incor- 
porated under  the  name  of  M.  &  J.  Schnaible  Company  and  other  members  of 
the  family  were  taken  in.  The  firm  manufactures  laundry  soaps  exclusively, 
among  their  best  known  brands  being  "Star  City,"  "Daylight"  and  "Does-it- 
Easy  Naptha."  Their  trade  extends  over  all  Indiana,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Iowa, 
Kentucky,  Alabama ;  also  a  part  of  West  Virginia  and  other  states. 

When  the  Schnaible  family  landed  in  America  John  Schnaible,  of  this 
re\iew,  was  sixteen  years  old.  He  had  attended  school  in  Germany  and 
spent  his  early  boyhood  on  the  farm.  On  August  18,  1869,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mary  ]\Iertz.  of  Baden,  and  this  union  has  resulted  in  the  birth 
of  three  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and  the  other,  a  boy  named 
Willie,  died  in  childhood. 

Mr.  and  INIrs.  Schnaible  are  members  of  the  German  Lutheran  church,  in 
which  the  former  has  been  an  elder  for  many  years.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schnaible  have  a  neat  and  comfortable  home.  They  are 
kind,  hospitable,  hard  workers.  In  the  summer  of  1909  they  took  an  enjoy- 
able trip  to  the  Pacific  coast,  visiting  California  and  Washington. 


SAMUEL  PROBASCO  BAIRD. 

Samuel  Prol)a.sco  Baird  is  a  son  of  Zebulon  and  Martha  M.  (Probasco) 
Baird.  He  was  born  in  Lafayette  and  has  lived  there  continuously  except 
during  the  period  of  his  engagement  abroad  in  the  service  of  his  country.  He 
was  educated  in  the  common  and  private  schools  of  Lafayette  until  1861, 
when  he  entered  the  L'nited  States  Xaval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  Maryland, 


/«^^;^:^/X^- 


The  Century  Hih.2i 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  569 

remaining  there  four  years.  In  1865  he  was  graduated  with  honor  and  became 
a  fuU-fledged  midshipman  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States.  The  following 
year  he  was  ordered  for  duty  as  a  midshipman  on  board  the  United  States 
ship  "Pensacola,"  commanded  by  Capt.  John  L.  Worden,  of  "Monitor"  fame. 
The  "Pensacola"  sailed  from  New  York  for  the  North  Pacific  station,  and, 
after  visiting  the  most  important  seaports  on  both  coasts  of  South  America, 
arrived  at  San  Francisco  in  1867.  Here  Mr.  Baird  received  his  commission 
as  ensign  and  was  detached  from  the  "Pensacola"  and  ordered  for  duty  as  an 
officer  of  the  deck,  on  board  the  United  States  ship  "Resaca."  Within  a  few 
months  he  became  navigating  officer  of  this  ship  and  in  less  than  a  year  its 
executive  officer,  and  while  on  duty  aboard  the  "Resaca"  he  was  promoted 
from  ensign  to  master  and  from  master  to  lieutenant.  During  this  period  the 
"Resaca"  was  employed  in  cruising  along'  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  and,  hav- 
ing seen  much  hard  service,  she  was  ordered  to  Mare  Island  navy  yard,  San 
Francisco,  for  repairs.  The  executive  officer  of  a  man-of-war  is  always  held 
responsible  for  the  general  condition  of  his  ship  and  the  discipline  and  efficiency 
of  its  officers  and  crew.  Although  Lieutenant  Baird  was  the  youngest  among 
all  the  executive  officers  of  the  fleet,  both  in  years  and  length  of  service,  yet 
his  ship  and  crew  were  always  considered  in  every  respect  equal  to  the  best. 
In  July,  1869,  Lieutenant  Baird  was  ordered  East,  and,  after  a  short  leave  of 
absence,  was  assigned  to  duty  at  the  Boston  navy  yard.  Subsequently  he 
served  at  Mound  City,  New  Orleans  and  Key  West. on  iron-clad  duty.  In 
1 87 1  he  was  ordered  to  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  as  instructor  in 
seamanship  and  naval  tactics  at  the  request  of  Admiral  Worden,  who  was 
then  superintendent  of  the  academy  and  had  been  captain  of  the  "Pensacola" 
when  Mr.  Baird  served  on  her  as  midshipman.  After  filling  the  position  one 
year,  he  obtained  a  leave  of  absence  and  soon  afterward  resigned  his  com- 
mission as  lieutenant  in  the  navy  in  order  to  take  up  the  practice  of  law  in 
Lafayette.  Mr.  Baird  had  long  contemplated  this  step,  and  for  several 
years  before  resigning  devoted  to  the  study  of  law  all  of  his  time  not  required 
for  the  performance  of  his  official  duties,  and  in  this  way  qualified  himself 
for  admission  to  the  bar.  He  had  become  convinced  that  the  active  pur- 
suits of  civil  life,  in  a  congenial  profession,  would  be  preferable  to  the  duties 
of  an  officer  of  the  navy  in  time  of  peace.  He  entered  upon  the  practice  of 
the  law  as  a  partner  and  under  the  guidance  of  his  father  and  to  the  instruc- 
tion thus  received  at  the  threshold  of  his  career  as  a  practitioner.  Mr.  Baird 
ascribes  a  large  measure  of  his  success  at  the  bar.  After  the  death  of  his 
father,  in  1877,  he  practiced  alone  for  ten  years  and  then  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  \y.  DeWitt  Wallace,  which  continued  until  the  latter  was  elected 


5/0  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

judge  of  the  superior  court  in  1894.  Since  that  time  he  has  carried  on  his 
practice  alone.  Mr.  Baird  has  devoted  himself  to  the  law  without  reserve  and 
has  neither  held  nor  sought  political  office.  His  practice  has  been  principally 
in  the  courts  of  Tippecanoe  and  adjoining  counties  and  in  the  supreme  court. 
In  the  management  and  trial  of  cases  he  has  been  associated  with  or  pitted 
against  the  leading  lawyers  of  Indiana  and  adjacent  states,  and  he  has  been 
engaged  as  counsel  in  most  of  the  important  litigation  in  his  section  of  the 
state  during  the  last  twenty  years.     His  personal  character  is  irreproachable. 

In  1881,  Mr.  Baird  married  Elizabeth  D.  Rochester,  daughter  of  the  late 
William  K.  Rochester,  Esq.,  of  Lafayette.  They  had  one  child,  a  son, 
Rochester  Baird.     Mrs.  Baird  died  on  May  27.  1903. 

In  1906,  Rochester  Baird  graduated  from  the  Indiana  University,  receiv- 
ing the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the 
supreme  court  and  the  United  States  district  court  for  the  state  of  Indinna. 
Following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  grandfather  and  father,  he  commenced  and 
is  now  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at  Lafavette. 


HUGH  SEABAUGH  JAMISON. 

One  of  Lafayette's  honored  and  well-known  business  men  is  Hugh  S. 
Jamison,  a  descendant  of  sterling  pioneer  ancestry,  he  himself  having  come 
down  to  the  present  generation  from  pioneer  days  and  has  played  well  his 
part  in  the  subsequent  development  of  this  favored  section  of  the  great 
Hoosier  state  from  its  wildernesses  to  present-day  opulent  prosperity.  He 
was  born  November  21,  1837,  at  Greensburg,  Indiana,  the  son  of  Martin 
and  Margaret  (Freeman)  Jamison.  The  former's  father  was  also  named 
Martin,  his  wife  having  borne  the  name  of  Barbara.  They  came  from  Greens- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  about  1820,  and  settled  near  the  present  city  of  Greens- 
burg, Indiana.  Martin  Jamison,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1806,  in  which  county  his  wife,  Margaret  Freeman,  was  also 
born,  in  1812.  They  made  a  toilsome  journey  across  the  mountains  to 
Indiana  and  settled  on  the  present  i^ublic  square  of  Greensl)nrg,  the  surround- 
ings then  being  decidedly  wild  and  primitive,  but  they  lived  to  see  its  wondrous 
improvements,  doing  their  just  share  of  the  work  of  development.  Martin 
Jamison,  Jr.,  is  remembered  as  a  man  of  unusual  natural  ability.  He  had 
a  good  education  and  was  an  able  lawyer  for  those  days,  becoming  prominent 
in  pfiliticnl  affairs,  having  ably  represented  Decatur  countv  in   tlie  sessions 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  571 

of  the  legislature  from  1839  to  1842,  inclusive,  during  which  time  he  wrought 
a  great  influence  for  the  good  of  his  constituents.  He  was  a  staunch  Whig  and 
an  admirer  and  supporter  of  Henry  Clay.  Before  he  began  practicing  law  he 
followed  merchandising  for  a  time,  bringing  his  goods  from  New  York  or 
Philadelphia  by  stage,  and  he  sent  back  produce  to  pay  for  the  same.  After 
he  began  the  practice  of  law  he  filled  his  appointments  at  various  courts, 
however  remote,  riding  thereto  on  horseback.  He  was  a  forceful  speaker, 
well  versed  in  the  tenets  of  the  law,  and  was  very  popular  over  his  district. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  Jamison,  Jr.,  the  following  children  were  born: 
John,  Cynthia  A.  (who  married  John  P.  Hittle),  Sarah,  Hugh  S.  and  Wil- 
liam. Of  these  only  Hugh  S.,  of  this  review,  survives.  Up  to  1884  the 
latter  lived  in  Greensburg  most  of  the  time  and  engaged  in  the  clothing  and 
dry  goods  business  in  that  city  from  1865  for  several  years.  In  1877  he 
entered  the  music  business  in  that  place  and  continued  in  the  same  until  1880, 
when  for  two  years  he  was  manager  of  a  large  clothing  store.  He  made  a 
success  of  all  these  lines,  owing  to  his  innate  business  qualifications,  but  the 
confinement  in  the  clothing  store  was  bad  for  his  health  and  he  returned  to  the 
music  business,  which  he  continued  until  1884,  in  which  year  he  disposed  of 
his  interests  at  Greensburg  and  came  to  Lafayette.  He  was  salesman  for  two 
years  for  one  music  store  in  this  city  and  eleven  years  for  another,  then,  after 
spending  two  years  as  salesman  for  a  third  music  store,  he  went  into  business 
for  himself,  in  1897.  He  has  been  successfully  engaged  in  the  music  business 
on  North  Ninth  street  for  more  than  ten  years,  during  which  time  he  has 
enjoyed  a  large  and  extensive  patronage.  He  has  a  neat,  well-kept  and  at- 
tractive store,  stocked  with  various  grades  and  types  of  musical  instruments, 
his  stock  always  being  carefully  selected. 

Mr.  Jamison  was  united  in  marriage,  December  13,  1866,  with  Ella  Nora 
Barnes,  of  Greensburg,  Indiana,  the  daughter  of  Turner  and  Miriam  Barnes. 
Mr.  Barnes,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  is  still  living  at  the  advanced 
age  of  eighty-five  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  famous  Wilder's  Brigade. 
He  is  a  man  of  exceptionally  clean  character,  and  he  is  in  possession  of  all 
his  faculties,  possesses  a  steadv  hand,  a  clear  brain  and  an  excellent  memory. 
To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jamison  four  children  ha\-e  been  born,  three  of  whom 
are  living,  namely :  Lafayette  Freeman,  of  New  York,  engaged  in  the  broker- 
age business ;  James  Blaine,  who  graduated  in  pharmacy  at  Purdue  Univer- 
sity in  1903,  is  now  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  also  engaged  in  the  brokerage 
business;  Genevieve  is  now  the  wife  of  William  E.  Kurtz,  a  well-known 
business  man  in  Indianapolis;  Cynthia  Elbert,  who  died  February  12.  1889, 
was  the  wife  of  Harry  P.  Dodd,  a  traveling  auditor  on  the  Lake  Erie  railroad. 


572  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

In  1908  Mr.  Jamison  built  a  new  home  on  North  Ninth  street  which  is 
worthy  of  brief  mention.  There  are  larger  and  costher  dweUings  in  Lafayette, 
but  few  calculated  to  be  the  source  of  more  genuine  home  comforts  in  the 
fullest  sense.  It  stands  on  high  ground  in  an  excellent  neighborhood;  the 
rooms  are  all  well  lighted  and  exceptionally  well  ventilated;  the  upstairs  is 
finished  in  light  wood  of  high  grade,  many  parts  showing  a  beautiful  velvety 
grain.  It  is  equipped  with  the  latest  and  best  system  of  plumbing,  the  linen 
closets  and  kitchen  being  especially  convenient.  Steam  heat  is  generated 
in  the  large  cemented  basement  which  underlies  the  whole  house.  The  large 
front  room,  reception  hall  and  another  room  are  all  connected  by  broad  open 
doorways,  on  either  side  of  which  are  columns  of  golden  oak.  A  large  open 
fireplace,  with  attractive  finishings,  greets  the  visitor,  who  is  delighted  with 
both  the  symmetry  and  convenience  of  the  interior.  The  house  is  lighted 
by  both  gas  and  electricity.  Here  genuine  hospitality  and  good  cheer  ever 
prevail,  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jamison  are  generous,  frank,  kind  and  courteous, 
making  all  feel  at  home  who  cross  their  threshold.  By  good  management 
and  economy  they  have  accumulated  a  comfortable  fortune,  and  they  are  in 
every  way  deserving  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  they  are  held  by  all  who 
know  them. 


THOMAS  JEFFERSON  BARNES. 

A  worthy  scion  of  distinguished  and  sterling  ancestors  is  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson Barnes,  son  of  Samuel  Barnes  and  grandson  of  John  Barnes.  Samuel 
lived  on  a  farm  in  Tippecanoe  township,  this  county,  all  his  life  from  the 
time  he  came  here  in  November,  1848,  until  his  death,  March  14,  1S63, 
having  developed  an  excellent  farm.  He  married  Nancy  Rice,  who  survived 
him  until  May  31,  1885.  Samuel  Barnes  was  the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Boydston)  Barnes,  the  former  a  native  of  Virginia  and  the  latter  of  one  of 
the  Carolinas.  When  John  Barnes  was  eight  years  old  he  rode  on  a  steam- 
boat invented  by  his  uncle  twenty  years  before  Robert  Fulton,  the  supposed 
first  inventor  of  the  steamboat,  got  his  patent.  This  uncle.  Joseph  Barnes, 
died  in  London,  where  he  was  detained  for  life  by  the  British  government 
because  he  was  apprehended  trying  to  deport  mechanics  to  work  on  his  boat, 
then  building  in  America. 

John  Barnes,  mentioned  above,  the  grandfather  of  Thomas  J.  Barnes, 
was  a  son  of  John  Barnes,  who  came  from  England  when  a  young  man  and 
settled  in  \'irginia  near  Harper's  Ferry.     He  enlisted  at  the  beginning  of  the 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  573 

Revolutionary  war,  was  promoted  to  captain,  and  served  as  such  until  the 
close  of  the  war.    The  Boydstons  were  also  of  Revolutionary  stock. 

Thomas  J.  Barnes  was  born  in  Pike  county,  Ohio,  August  21,  1847.  I" 
November  of  the  following  year  the  Barnes  family  moved  to  Tippecanoe  county 
locating  on  a  farm  in  Tippecanoe  township,  two  and  three-fourths  miles  north- 
east of  Battle  Ground  in  the  north  end  of  Burnett's  Reserve.  The  farm  con- 
sisted of  four  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres.  It  was  on  this  place  that  Thomas 
J.  grew  to  maturity,  on  which  he  worked  during  the  summer  months,  attend- 
ing the  subscription  schools  in  the  winter,  also  went  to  the  collegiate  insti- 
tute at  Battle  Ground,  receiving  a  good  education  and  remaining  upon  the 
home  farm  until  1882.  In  November  of  that  year  he  was  elected  county 
auditor,  serving  very  creditably  for  four  years,  in  fact,  so  faithfully  did  he 
discharge  the  duties  of  this  office  that  he  was  re-elected  for  a  term  of  four 
more  years  in  1886.  In  1891  he  started  in  the  hardware  business,  having 
entered  into  partnership  with  Cyrenius  Johnson,  who  had  been  in  busines,s 
a  number  of  years  previously,  the  firm  name  being  then  changed  to  The  John- 
son-Barnes Hardware  Company.  Mr.  Barnes  continued  in  that  line  until 
March,  1898,  when  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles  W.  Bone  in  the 
real  estate  business,  in  which  Mr.  Barnes  has  been  engaged  ever  since,  having 
built  up  an  extensive  business  by  reason  of  close  application  to  individual 
affairs.  For  several  years  he  has  devoted  considerable  attention  to  emigration 
to  the  irrigated  lands  of  the  Denver-Greeley  district  in  Colorado.  In  March, 
1909,  Mr.  Barnes  was  appointed  president  of  the  board  of  police  commis- 
sioners in  Lafayette  for  a  term  of  three  years,  which  position  he  is  holding  in  a 
manner  that  is  winning  the  hearty  approval  of  all  concerned. 

November  21,  1872.  Mr.  Barnes  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  H. 
Mason,  the  daughter  of  E.  P.  Mason,  of  Brookston,  White  county,  Indiana. 
Mr.  Mason  was  one  of  the  old  and  highly  respected  pioneers  of  Tippecanoe 
county,  having  come  here  fom  Vermont,  in  which  state  he  was  born.  He 
lived  for  a  short  time  near  Romney,  this  county,  then  moved  to  Lafayette 
where  he  conducted  the  Mason  House.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Barnes 
five  children  have  been  born,  namely :  Gertrude  Mason,  Mary  Grace,  Thomas 
J.,  Jr.,  Lois  Christine  and  Helen  Virginia.  These  children  are  receiving  all 
the  advantages  possible  in  the  way  of  education,  etc.  The  Barnes  residence  is 
a  comfortable  and  pleasantly  located  one. 

Mr.  Barnes,  in  his  fraternal  relations,  belongs  to  the  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  having  taken  the  Knight  Templar  degrees.  A  criterion  of  his  high 
standing  in  Tippecanoe  county  is  found  in  the  fact  that  he  is  the  first  Demo- 
crat ever  elected  countv  auditor,  and  he  was  the  first  one  to  hold  the  office 


574  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

two  terms  consecutively,  and  only  one  other  man  has  done  so  since  then.  He 
has  been  several  times  president  of  the  Jackson  Club,  and  is  a  charter  member 
of  the  Lafayette  Club.  He  is  a  well  read  man,  keeping  well  abreast  of  the 
times  in  current  events  and  the  best  literary  topics,  having  a  large  and  care- 
fully selected  library.  His  daughters  and  son,  who  are  all  favorites  in  the 
younger  social  set  of  the  city,  are  also  of  studious  dispositions.  Owing  to 
Mr.  Barnes's  ancestors  having  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  his  daughter, 
Gi  ace,  is  a  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  Thomas 
J.  Barnes,  Jr.,  is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution.  No 
citizen  in  the  county  is  better  or  more  favorably  known  that  Mr.  Barnes. 


WILLIA^I  A.  ROBERTS. 

A  man  deserving  of  much  credit  for  what  he  has  accomplished  in  the 
world  of  business,  considering  his  early  environments,  is  William  A.  Roberts, 
whose  name  needs  no  introduction  to  the  people  of  Tippecanoe  county  where 
his  active  and  useful  life  has  been  spent,  having  been  born  in  the  city  of 
Lafayette,  September  26,  1854,  the  son  of  James  and  Philinda  (Packard) 
Roberts.  The  former  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  who  came  to  Lafayette, 
Indiana,  as  early  as  1834.  He  was  a  cabinetmaker  by  trade  and  conducted 
the  first  cabinetmaker's  shop  of  any  consequence  in  this  part  of  the  state. 
A  very  skilled  workman,  he  found  a  ready  sale  for  what  he  produced  in  this 
line.  He  became  well  known  here,  and  he  was  a  man  of  such  high  integrity 
that  after  his  deatli  his  son  was  accepted  without  question  by  a  judge  of  the 
court  when  told  that  he  was  the  son  of  James  Roberts.  Philinda  Pickard, 
before  her  marriage  to  James  Roberts,  came  from  the  state  of  New  York 
about  1845.  ^"d  went  into  the  millinery  business  for  herself  in  Lafayette, 
being  a  leader  here  in  her  line. 

When  William  A.  Roberts  was  about  ten  years  old  his  mother  died,  and 
he  was  thus  deprived  of  her  loving  care,  forced  to  stand  against  the  world 
without  her  to  champion  his  rights,  but  this  he  did  right  bravely,  thus  fostering 
that  independence  of  spirit,  that  ability  to  "go  it  alone"  which  has  contributed 
much  to  his  subsequent  success.  His  father  was  ever  solicitous  of  his  welfare, 
however,  and  gave  him  an  education.  He  attended  the  old  Central  school 
at  Sixth  and  Brown  streets  in  Lafayette,  now  called  the  Centennial  school. 
After  leaving  that  school  he  attended  a  private  school  for  some  time,  then 
went  to  Stockwell  Collegiate  Institute,  which,  at  that  time,  was  a  noted  insti- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  575 

tution  with  four  hundred  pupils.  In  later  years  the  school  lost  its  prestige 
and,  in  1895,  Mr.  Roberts  became  the  owner  of  the  building  and  grounds 
where  he  had  spent  the  latter  days  of  his  school  life.  He  demolished  the 
old  building  and  platted  the  grounds  into  town  lots.  After  he  had  finished 
his  course  at  Stockwell  he  went  to  Thorntown,  where  he  was  employed  in 
the  drug  business  for  a  period  of  si.x  years.  Although  he  prospered  at  this. 
he  returned  to  Lafayette  believing  that  better  opportunities  existed  for  him 
in  his  native  city  than  elsewhere,  and  he  was  then  employed  in  the  grocery 
business  for  about  two  years.  Then  seeing  an  opening  at  Zionsville,  Indiana. 
he  spent  the  next  seven  years  in  that  town  where  he  and  his  brother-in-law 
conducted  a  general  store,  building  up  an  extensive  trade  in  the  meantime. 
Here  his  health  failed  and  he  took  up  railroad  work,  having  studied  civil 
engineering  at  Stockwell  College,  and  he  began  running  levels  in  railroad 
construction  work  in  this  locality.  In  a  short  time,  however,  he  went  in 
Pennsylvania  where  he  was  with  a  corps  of  engineers  on  a  preliminary  sur\ey 
for  a  proposed  narrow  gauge  railroad  from  Pittsburg  to  Philadelphia.  This 
work  lasted  for  about  a  year  and  six  months.  Upon  returning  to  Tippecanoe 
county  Mr.  Roberts  bought  a  farm  at  Stockwell  and  lived  there  until  1897. 
In  that  year  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  county  asylum,  in  which 
position  he  remained  for  a  period  of  nine  years,  rendering  entire  satisfaction 
to  all  concerned,  leaving  the  institution  in  the  fall  of  1905  when  he  mo\-ed 
to  Lafayette  and  took  a  position  as  superintendent  for  the  Western  Con- 
struction Company.  In  February,  1906,  he  was  appointed  police  commissioner 
in  this  city.  Soon  after  taking  office  he  found  that  the  salaries  and  condi- 
tions regidating  the  employment  of  policemen  were  inadequate,  and  that  the 
service  would  necessarily  be  unsatisfactory  unless  a  change  was  instituted. 
He  appealed  to  Governor  Hanly  and  secured  a  raise  in  salaries  to  a  fair  basis, 
and  also  got  other  conditions  changed  tending  to  the  betterment  of  the  depart- 
ment. In  recognition  of  his  services  in  this  connection  the  local  police  force 
presented  Mr.  Roberts  a  beautiful  gold  badge.  In  1908  Mr.  Rol>erts  was 
chairman  of  the  Republican  county  central  committee,  and  largely  due  to  his 
efficient  management  of  the  local  affairs  of  the  party  the  whole  county  ticket 
was  elected  and  there  was  also  a  gain  of  two  township  trustees  to  liis  credit 
for  the  party. 

Mr.  Roberts  was  married,  in  1877,  to  Ella  J.  Rash,  whose  home  was  near 
Linden.  Montgomery  county,  and  to  this  union  four  children  have  been  born, 
namely:  Laura  A.,  James  L.,  Harriett  E.  and  W.  Albert.  They  constitute 
a  happy  and  mutuallv  helpful  household  at  the  pleasant  home  which  Mr, 
Poberts  purchased  in   1906  in  Highland  Park  section  of  the  city.      It  !■;  a 


576  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

modern  and  attractive  dwelling  surrounded  by  well  kept  lawns.  ]\Ir.  Roberts 
is  the  owner  of  a  very  valuable  and  highly  improved  farm  of  two  hundred 
acres,  located  a  mile  west  of  Stockwell.  The  soil  is  rich  and  yields  abundant 
harvests,  the  place  is  kept  well  stocked  and  on  it  stand  substantial  and  com- 
fortable buildings. 

Mr.  Roberts  is  a  Mason  of  high  standing,  having  passed  through  both 
the  York  rite  and  Scottish  rite ;  he  also  belongs  to  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order 
of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ;  also  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
having  passed  through  all  the  chairs,  attended  the  grand  lodge  in  1879  ^"<^ 
the  grand  encampment  in  1883,  and  in  1896  he  was  a  member  of  the  sovereign 
lodge  of  the  world.  And  in  all  these  great  orders  Mr.  Roberts  has  become 
well  known  and  one  would  judge  from  his  daily  walk  among  his  fellowmen 
that  he  makes  an  effort  to  exemplify  their  sublime  teachings.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Christian  church.  Personally,  he  is  a  man  of  genial  but 
positive  character,  straightforward,  generous,  self-reliant  and  reliable,  conse- 
quently no  man  in  Tippecanoe  county  holds  higher  rank  as  a  citizen. 


WILLIAM  WALLACE. 

The  career  of  the  honored  subject  of  this  sketch  indicates  the  clear-cut, 
sane  and  distinct  character  and  in  reviewing  the  same,  consistencv  demands 
that  he  be  given  distinctive  precedence  as  a  captain  of  industry  and  a  con- 
spicuous place  among  the  men  of  action  whose  labors  and  influence  permeate 
the  industrial  and  civic  life  not  only  of  the  city  for  whose  growth  and  prog- 
ress he  has  done  so  much,  but  of  a  number  of  other  populous  centers  in 
various  parts  of  the  state  of  his  adoption. 

William  Wallace  is  a  native  of  Scotland,  born  near  the  old  historic  city 
of  Edinburgh,  January  19,  1841.  In  1852  the  family,  consisting  of  the  par- 
ents, Adam  and  Rose  (Bee)  Wallace,  and  several  children,  emigrated  to  the 
United  States  and  went  direct  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  two  of  the  subject's 
brothers  and  a  sister  had  previously  located,  he  being  about  eleven  years  old 
at  the  time.  During  the  ensuing  three  or  four  years,  young  William  attended 
the  schools  of  that  city  and  on  laying  aside  his  books  entered  upon  an  appren- 
ticeship with  the  old  firm  of  John  B.  &  T.  Gibson  to  learn  the  plumbing 
business,  to  which  he  devoted  the  five  years  following.  The  Civil  war  break- 
ing out  about  the  time  he  completed  his  apprenticeship,  he  enlisted  in  the 
Benton  Cadets,  an  independent  organization  under  General  Fremont,  selected 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  577 

for  his  body-guard  and  which  during  the  General's  operations  in  Missouri 
rendered  vakiable  service  in  helping  rid  the  state  of  the  Confederate  forces. 
When  Halleck  superseded  Fremont  the  company  disbanded,  quite  a  number 
of  the  men  joining  other  commands,  while  others  returned  to  their  homes, 
among  the  latter  being  Mr.  Wallace,  who  shortly  after  his  discharge  entered 
the  employ  of  Mr.  Hattersley,  of  Ft.  Wayne,  Indiana,  who  kept  the  only 
plumbing  establishment  in  that  city  at  that  time.  The  Aveline  Hotel  (since 
burned)  was  then  in  the  process  of  construction,  also  the  Allen  county  court 
house.  The  plumbing  of  both  buildings  falling  to  Mr.  Hattersley,  Mr.  Wal- 
lace was  intrusted  with  the  task  of  installing  the  same,  and  it  is  needless  to 
state  that  the  work  was  performed  per  contract  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  con- 
cerned. 

In  October,  1864,  Mr.  Wallace  came  to  Lafayette  with  the  view  of  locating, 
but  after  spending  two  or  three  months  in  the  city  he  went  to  Terre  Haute, 
which  he  supposed  presented  a  more  favorable  opening  for  his  line  of  work. 
After  looking  over  the  field  there  and  carefully  considering  conditions,  he 
finally  decided  to  choose  the  former  place  and  accordingly  -returned  to  La- 
fayette and  in  due  time  established  a  small  plumbing  business.  For  lack  of 
necessary  capital  this  was  conducted  on  rather  a  modest  scale  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  when  his  brother  James,  who  had  served  in  the  army,  became 
his  partner.  The  two  served  apprenticeships  at  the  same  time  and  with  the 
same  Cincinnati  firm,  both  being  skillful  mechanics  and  well  qualified  for 
the  duties  which  now  devolved  upon  them.  About  that  time  the  Lafayette 
Gas  Company  began  a  series  of  improvements  and,  requiring  the  services 
of  a  competent  man,  the  subject  was  induced  to  enter  their  employ.  Soon 
after  engaging  with  the  company  he  was  tendered  the  superintendency  of  the 
works  in  the  city,  which  position  he  accepted  on  condition  that  he  be  allowed 
to  continue  his  plumbing  business  and  carry  it  along  with  his  other  under- 
takings. He  had  done  considerable  work  for  the  gas  company  at  Ft.  Wayne 
prior  to  his  removal  to  Lafayette,  hence  was  no  novice  when  he  accepted  the 
superintendency  and  entered  upon  the- duties  of  the  position.  In  1874,  when 
the  city  of  Lafayette  began  operations  for  a  system  of  water  works,  he  Ijecame 
the  successful  bidder  and  secured  the  contract  for  laying  the  mains  in  the 
city,  and  constructing  the  reservoir,  which  was  carried  on  under  very  discour- 
aging circumstances,  owing  to  an  almost  unprecedented  rainfall  which  inter- 
fered materially  with  the  work,  but  which  was  carried  to  completion  in  due 
time.  In  the  month  of  August  the  river  rose  to  such  a  height  that  the  water 
on  the  levee  was  six  feet  deep,  while  other  parts  of  the  city  through  which 
the  mains  extended  were  also  sulinier^-ed.  causinL-;  much  delay  in  the  nrittcr  ni 
(37) 


578  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

excavating  and  rendering  work  on  the  reservoir  exceedingly  ditificult.  Not- 
withstanding these  hindrances.  Mr.  Wallace  addressed  himself  resolutely  to 
the  task  in  hand,  and  ere  the  close  of  the  season  finished  the  undertaking 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  contract,  with  a  liberal  margin  for  his  profits. 

When  work  began  on  Purdue  University,  Air.  Wallace  was  employed  to 
superintend  the  construction  of  the  sewerage  and  water  supply  systems,  in  ad- 
dition to  which  he  was  also  awarded  the  contract  for  heating  several  of  the 
buildings.  He  carried  the  work  forward  as  rapidly  as  circumstances  would 
admit  and  after  its  successful  completion  he  located  and  laid  out  the  gas  plant 
for  the  institution.  The  university  has  since  grown  so  rapidly  as  to  render 
much  of  the  work  at  the  time  indicated  obsolete,  the  gas  plant  having  been 
abandoned  a  number  of  years  ago,  since  which  time  the  institution's  gas  sup- 
ply has  been  provided  by  the  Lafayette  company. 

The  gas  works,  which  Mr.  Wallace  still  superintends,  has  enjoyed  a 
rapid  and  substantial  growth,  its  patronage  increasing  from  three  hundred  con- 
sumers to  more  than  four  thousand,  to  supply  whom  sixty  miles  of  mains  are 
required,  the  plant  being  a  model  of  its  kind  and  of  sufficient  capacity  to  meet 
much  more  than  the  present  demand.  The  company  also  operates  plants  in 
about  a  dozen  other  cities  in  northern  Indiana  and  northwestern  Ohio,  all 
fully  up-to-date  and  equipped  with  the  latest  results  of  inventive  genius  for 
the  manufacture  and  distribution  of  gas,  these  as  well  as  the  principal  estab- 
lishment at  Lafayette  being  subject  to  the  oversight  of  Mr.  Wallace,  who 
visits  them  when  necessary  and  suggests  such  additions  and  improvements 
as  are  needful. 

The  Wallace  Machine  and  Foundry  Company  of  Lafayette,  witli  which 
the  subject  is  itlentified,  was  established  about  1888  or  1889  by  William  Wal- 
lace and  his  son,  Robert  B.  Wallace,  who  began  operations  in  abuildingerecteil 
for  the  purpose  on  Second  street,  but  meeting  with  a  severe  loss  by  fire  a 
little  later,  they  purchased  a  part  of  the  old  car  works  on  Third  street  which 
they  refitted  and  equipped  with  first-class  machinery  and  other  appliances, 
this  plant  with  two  or  three  acres  of  ground  surrounding  affording  ample 
facilities  for  the  s'.:ccessful  prosecution  of  their  hrge  and  rapidlv  growing 
business.  The  company  has  an  extensive  trade  in  structural  and  architectural 
iron,  which  they  manufacture  in  large  quantities  and  ship  to  various  ]iarts  of 
Indiana.  Illinois.  Ohio  and  other  states,  besides  doing  general  tVnmdrv  and 
machine  shop  work.  The  company  is  in  a  flourishing  condition  and  under 
the  presidency  of  William  Wallace  bids  fair  to  grow  to  still  larger  propor- 
tions and  continue  in  the  future  as  in  the  past  one  of  the  leading  industrial 
enterprises  of  the  city. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  579 

The  plumbing  establishment  of  Wallace  Brothers  Company,  which  he 
and  his  brother  James  started  in  Lafayette  when  he  first  came  to  the  city, 
does  a  large  and  lucrative  business  in  that  line.  He  continues  as  president 
of  the  company,  while  George  B.  Wallace  is  secretary  and  acting  manager. 
This  company  employs  none  but  skillful  artisans  and  its  reputation  for  the 
high  standard  of  all  work  has  brought  a  patronage  which  from  the  beginning 
has  steadily  increased. 

Aside  from  his  manufacturing  and  industrial  interests  Mr.  Wallace 
is  actively  identified  with  various  other  lines  of  enterprise  which  have  tended 
greatly  to  the  advancement  and  welfare  of  Lafayette.  Durng  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century  he  has  been  connected  with  the  First  National  Bank  of  this  city, 
and  since  1891  has  been  the  efficient  and  honored  vice-president  of  the  same, 
also  one  of  its  heavy  stockholders.  In  the  year  1899  he  assisted  in  estab- 
lishing the  Lafa3rette  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  and  was  elected  president 
of  the  organization,  which  position  he  still  worthily  holds.  He  is  also  a 
director  of  the  Sterling  Electric  Company,  of  his  home  city,  and,  with  a 
nephew,  is  interested  in  the  milling  business  at  the  town  of  Dale,  in  Spencer 
county,  this  state,  being  half  owner  of  the  plant  and  president  of  the  com- 
pany by  which  it  is  operated.  For  some  years  he  has  been  quite  extensively 
interested  in  street  railway  and  interurban  traction  lines,  in  which,  with  the 
Murdocks,  he  has  large  holdings  in  Evansville  and  South  Bend,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  various  other  enterprises  of  less  but  by  no  means  negative  importance. 

The  married  life  of  Mr.  Wallace  dates  from  the  year  1867,  when  Miss 
Catherine  Wilson  became  his  wife,  the  ceremony  having  been  solemnized 
in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  where  the  parents  of  the  bride  settled  when  they 
immigrated  to  the  United  States  from  their  native  country,  Scotland.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wallace  have  had  six  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy ;  those 
living  are  Mrs.  Henry  Brockenbrough ;  Robert  B. ;  Mrs.  Rose  Van  Natta ; 
Roy  W.  and  Belle,  the  two  sons  being  interested  with  their  father  in  the 
foundry  and  machine  shop  business.  Robert  B.  Wallace  was  educated  at 
Purdue  University,  of  which  he  was  an  early  student  and  one  of  the  first  of 
that  institution  to  take  a  mechanical  course.  He  is  now  manager  of  the 
Wallace  Machine  and  Foundry  Company,  of  Lafayette,  and  one  of  the  most 
thorough  mechanics  in  the  city.  Roy  is  a  well  educated  and  accomplished 
young  man  and  as  a  mechanical  engineer  has  few  equals  and  no  superiors  in 
the  city  of  his  residence.  He  was  graduated  from  Purdue  and  Cornell  Uni- 
versities and  since  becoming  interested  in  the  a])ove  company  witli  his  father 
and  brother  has  been  the  mechanical  engineer  of  the  enterprise. 

In  his  political  proclivities,  Mr.  Wallace  has  ever  been  a  Reuuhlican.  but 


580  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

not  a  politician  in  tlie  sense  the  term  is  usually  understood,  much  less  a  seeker 
after  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  office.  He  was  reared  a  Presbyterian, 
but  of  recent  years  has  attended  the  Baptist  church  with  his  family,  the  latter 
being  members  of  the  First  Church  of  that  body  at  Lafayette.  Fraternally  he 
is  identified  with  the  Masonic  order  and  from  time  to  time  has  been  honored 
with  important  official  positions  in  the  local  Blue  lodge  to  which  he  belongs. 

In  the  midst  of  the  thronging  cares  of  an  exceptionally  active  and  suc- 
cessful career  in  the  industrial  and  business  world,  Mr.  Wallace  has  never 
been  else  than  the  genial  true-hearted  friend  and  sincere  straightforward 
man,  appreciative  of  the  welfare  of  those  with  whom  his  lot  has  been  cast, 
regardless  of  the  stations  in  life  they  hold.  He  has  mingled  much  with  men  in 
an  executive  capacity,  and  possesses  the  subtle  yet  readily  understood  power 
of  begetting  loyalty  on  the  part  of  those  in  his  employ  or  working  under  his 
direction,  while  his  relations  with  those  and  others  have  ever  been  of  the  most 
friendly  and  trustful  character.  No  man  in  Lafayette  is  held  in  higher  regard 
as  a  citizen  and  few  have  done  as  much  as  he  for  the  general  welfare  of  the 
city.  In  person  he  is  above  the  average  size,  of  a  large,  compact  frame,  unas- 
suming in  manner,  easily  approachable,  and  affable  and  kindly  in  conversation. 
Frank,  honest,  industrious  and  by  nature  and  training  fitted  to  inaugurate 
and  carry  to  successful  conclusion  large  and  important  enterprises,  he  has 
stamped  the  impress  of  his  individuality  upon  the  community  and  is  essentially 
one  of  the  representative  men  of  the  city  in  which  he  resides. 


HUGH  FLACK. 


Hugh  Flack  is  a  native  of  Ireland  and  dates  his  birth  from  December  7, 
1846.  having  first  seen  the  light  of  day  in  county  Cavan,  which,  for  a  number 
of  years,  had  been  the  home  of  his  ancestors.  His  parents,  Samuel  and 
Mary  (Bell)  Flack,  came  to  the  United  States  some  time  prior  to  the  Civil 
war  and  settled  in  New  York,  but  about  the  year  1866  they  migrated  westward 
as  far  as  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
The  following  year  they  were  joined  by  their  two  sons.  Hugh  and  John,  who, 
landing  at  New  York  on  the  first  day  of  July,  lost  no  time  in  proceeding  on 
their  way  to  the  new  home  in  Indiana. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Hugh  Flack  entered  the 
service  of  Samuel  Meharry,  a  well-to-do  farmer  of  the  neighborhood  of  Shaw- 
nee Mound,  and  a  local  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  whose 
employ  he  continued  for  a  p^iod  of  eight  years,  during  which  time  he  bus- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  581 

banded  his  earnings  with  scrupulous  care  with  the  object  in  view  of  ultimately 
becoming  a  tiller  of  the  soil  upon  his  own  responsibility.  Mr.  Meharry,  being 
not  only  one  of  the  leading  farmers  and  representative  citizens  of  the  com- 
munity but  a  man  of  large  heart  and  generous  impulses  as  well,  took  great 
interest  in  the  young  gentleman,  giving  him  the  benefit  of  his  counsel  and 
advice,  which  in  after  years  resulted  greatly  to  his  advantage.  While  in  the 
employ  of  this  excellent  man,  Mr.  Flack  made  the  acquaintance  of  an  estimable 
young  lady  by  the  name  of  Sarah  Laugheed,  a  native  of  the  same  part  of 
Ireland  in  which  he  was  born,  but  who  had  come  to  America  some  years 
previous  and  at  the  time  referred  to  was  living  with  the  family  of  G.  N. 
Meharry,  a  nephew  of  his  employer.  This  acquaintance  ripening  into  love, 
finally  resulted  in  a  marriage,  which  was  duly  solemnized  on  the  15th  day  of 
April,  1877,  immediately  after  which  Mr.  Flack  set  up  his  domestic  establish- 
ment on  the  Meharry  farm  where  he  continued  to  reside  as  a  renter  during 
the  eight  years  ensuing. 

Mrs.  Flack's  parents  were  Robert  and  Margaret  (Ray)  Laugheed,  the 
former  a  son  of  Adam  Laugheed,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  migrated  to 
Ireland  in  early  manhood  and  settled  in  county  Cavan,  where  his  death  sub- 
sequently occurred  at  the  remarkable  age  of  one  hundred  and  three  years. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Laugheed  reared  their  family  and  spent  their  lives 
in  the  above  county,  their  daughter,  Sarah,  having  been  born  on  November  2, 
1846.  Cast  upon  her  own  resources  after  the  death  of  her  parents,  she 
finally  decided  to  seek  her  fortune  in  the  great  country  across  the  sea.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  1867,  she  set  sail  and,  landing  in  due  time,  made  her  way  to 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  arriving  at  Shawnee  Mound  on  February  14th 
of  that  year  and  found  employment  and  a  good  home  with  Mr.  Meharry,  as 
already  stated. 

During  the  eight  years  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Flack  occupied  the  Meharry 
farm  they  labored  untiringly  and  saved  their  earnings  so  that  at  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time  they  were  enabled  to  purchase  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
of  their  own  near  Shawnee  Mound,  where,  in  due  season,  they  began  reaping 
the  results  of  their  sowing  in  the  condition  of  independence,  which  they  have 
ever  since  maintained.  After  a  residence  of  nearly  eight  years  on  the  above 
farm,  during  which  time  the  place  was  not  only  paid  for  but  greatly  enhanced 
in  value,  Mr.  Flack  sold  it  and  purchased  one  hundred  seven  and  one-half 
acres  of  fine  land  near  Battle  Ground  on  which  he  lived  and  prospered  until 
the  spring  of  1908,  when  he  retired  from  active  life  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his 
many  years  of  labor  and  good  management.  In  all  of  his  efforts  to  rise  in  the 
world,  Mr.  Flack  found  an  able  and  willing  assistant  in  the  person  of  his 
faithful  and  devoted  wife  and  helpmeet. 


582  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

In  March,  1908,  'Sir.  Flack  turned  his  farm  over  to  other  hands  and, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  revisited  the  home  of  his  childhood  in  the  beautiful 
Emerald  Isle,  renewing  many  acquaintances  with  those  whom  he  knew  in 
boyhood.  After  spending  two  months  in  the  land  of  their  birth,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Flack  returned  to  the  United  States  and  since  that  time  have  been  living 
retired  lives  in  the  city  of  Lafayette,  where  they  have  a  comfortable  home 
and  numerous  friends.  Both  are  respected  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  and  in  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Flack  belongs  to  the  Masonic 
lodge  at  Battle  Ground,  in  which,  from  time  to  time,  he  has  been  honored 
with  important  official  positions. 

i\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Flack  are  the  parents  of  four  children,  the  oldest  of  whom, 
a  daughter  by  the  name  of  Maggie  Meharry,  married  C.  B.  Downes,  who,  in 
1909.  sold  his  farm  in  Tippecanoe  county  and  moved  to  the  Pan  Handle  of 
Texas,  where  they  now  reside ;  they  have  two  sons,  Russell  and  Glenn,  and  are" 
well  situated  as  far  as  material  means  are  concerned.  Mary  Elizabeth,  whose 
birth  occurred  November  3,  1876,  died  on  the  15th  of  the  same  month  and  year. 
William,  the  third  of  the  family,  married  Mary  Norris,  of  Delphi,  and  is 
the  father  of  one  child,  a  daughter  named  Marguerite.  He  is  a  farmer  by 
occupation  and  for  some  time  past  has  been  living  on  his  father's  home  place 
near  Battle  Ground.  Luella,  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth,  is  the  wife  of 
William  Greenup,  a  member  of  the  wealthy  and  widely  known  Greenup  family 
of  Delphi,  where  she  has  lived  since  her  marriage,  being  at  this  time  the 
mother  of  two  interesting  children,  Nellie  and  Joe,  aged  nine  and  seven  years, 
respectively. 


MATT  SCHNAIBLE. 

The  advent  of  the  Schnaible  family  in  the  New  World  was  most  dis- 
couraging and  apparently  the  future  held  nothing  for  them,  when,  after  a 
disastrous  voyage  in  the  summer  of  1853,  members  of  this  family  landed  in 
New  York,  having  come  from  their  native  Germany  to  seek  a  better  home  in 
free  America.  They  had  eked  out  a  bare  living  in  Wurttemberg,  Germany, 
for  many  years,  and  the  father,  Michael  Schnaible,  desiring  to  give  his  sons 
a  better  opportunity  than  he  had  ever  enjoyed,  concluded  that  the  wisest 
thing  for  him  to  do  was  to  establish  a  new  home;  but  this  was  an  unfortu- 
nate decision,  for  during  the  voyage  to  this  country  cholera  invaded  the  sail- 
ing vessel  and  forty-seven  of  the  passengers  succumbed  to  the  dread  dis- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  583 

ease,  including  Michael  Schnaible  and  his  son  Jacob,  his  brother  and  his  uncle, 
all  of  whom  were  buried  at  sea.  John  Schnaible,  who  contracted  the  disease, 
recovered,  and  the  mother,  Dorothea  Schnaible,  finished  the  voyage,  which 
required  forty  days,  with  her  remaining  children,  Margaret,  Michael,  John, 
George  and  Matt.  Three  of  her  children  had  died  in  the  Fatherland.  The 
means  of  the  family  were  nearly  exhausted  when  they  reached  New  York. 
After  spending  a  few  months  there,  they  started  for  the  West  in  February, 
1854,  finally  reaching  Lafayette,  Indiana,  where  the  boys  who  were  old 
enough  to  work  found  employment  of  whatever  nature  they  could  to  make 
a  living.  Michael  secured  work  in  a  small  soap  factory  near  the  water  works 
and  continued  in  the  same  until  1858.  Being  an  observing  boy,  he  learned 
the  business,  as  did  also  his  brother  John,  who  secured  employment  in  the 
same  plant.  Believing  that  they  could  make  a  success  manufacturing  soap 
on  their  own  account,  they  began  business  under  the  firm  name  of  M.  &  J. 
Schnaible  Company,  which  eventually  developed  into  a  large  business  and 
the  family  became  well  established,  enjoying  a  good  home  and  the  comforts  of 
life. 

Matt  Schnaible  was  only  a  baby  when  the  family  brought  him  from 
Germany,  where  he  was  born  in  1853.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  Lafayette, 
attended  the  Lutheran  schools  and  also  a  business  college,  receiving  a  good 
education.  He  first  secured  work  as  engineer  in  the  Wabash  elevator,  which 
establishment  was  built  by  the  Wabash  Railroad  Company  in  1857  and  was 
first  operated  by  James  Spears,  who  was  succeeded  by  Morcy  &  Ball,  and  in 
1875  by  L  E.  Haviland.  In  1876  Matt  Schnaible,  having  mastered  the 
details  of  this  business  and  having  shown  himself  a  capable  employe  in  every 
respect,  was  made  manager,  and  in  1882  he  became  a  partner  in  the  concern 
for  which  he  had  faithfully  worked  for  a  period  of  sixteen  years,  and  the 
firm  name  was  I.  E.  Haviland  Company.  The  business  continued  to  prosper, 
largely  due  to  Mr.  Schnaible's  able  management,  and  in  about  1897  he  bought 
Mr.  Haviland's  interest,  becoming  sole  owner.  In  1904  he  added  a  retail 
coal  business  to  his  already  extensive  business,  all  of  which  is  now  incor- 
porated under  the  name  of  Matt  Schnaible  Grain  Company,  which  has  become 
widely  known  and  is  doing  a  large  business.  Besides  the  elevator  at  Lafay- 
ette, Mr.  Schnaible  operates  one  at  Shadeland,  where  he  handles  a  large  quan- 
tity of  grain  from  year  to  year,  his  combined  business  often  running  up  to 
very  large  figures,  showing  that  he  is  by  nature  and  training  a  business  man 
second  to  none  in  the  thriving  city  of  Lafayette. 

Matt  Schnaible  was  united  in  marriage  with  Katherine  E.  Sattler  in 
1880.    She  is  the  daughter  of  John  Sattler,  a  prominent  and  influential  busi- 


584  I'AST    AND    PRESENT 

ness  man  of  Lafayette,  a  son  of  George  Sattler.  Both  father  and  son  were 
born  in  Germany,  John  first  seeing-  the  light  of  day  in  Hessen-Uarmstadt. 
They  came  to  America  and  located  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  alx)ut  1855. 
John  Sattler  was  for  many  years  a  leading  tailor  in  Lafayette,  became  influen- 
tial in  business  circles  and  was  a  trustee  of  the  board  of  the  Lafayette  water 
works,  and  for  many  years  he  was  an  officer  in  the  Lutheran  church. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Matt  Schnaible  eight  children  have  been  born,  of  whom 
one  died  in  infancy.  A  daughter,  Mrs.  Adolph  J.  Lottes,  lives  in  Chicago ; 
Walter  W.  married  Caroline  Schurman,  of  Lafayette,  and  has  one  daughter 
named  Katherine.  The  other  children  are  Albert  F.,  vice-president  of  the 
Shadeland  Grain  Company;  Walter  W.,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  same 
company;  Oswald  M.  is  a  clerk  in  the  Merchants'  National  Bank;  Arthur  T., 
Elmer  A.  and  Raymond.  These  children  all  received  careful  training  and 
are  well  started  in  the  successful  battle  of  life. 

Mr.  Schnaible  has  long  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  Lafay- 
ette and  Tippecanoe  county,  lending  his  aid  wherever  practicable  in  promot- 
ing home  interests.  As  a  result  of  his  public  spirit  he  was  in  1896  elected 
a  member  of  the  city  council.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Luth- 
eran church.  Personally,  Mr.  Schnaible  is  frank,  straightforward,  courteous 
and  generous,  a  pleasant  man  to  know. 


ROBERT  FOSTER  HIGHT,  A.  B. 

Prof.  Robert  F.  Hight,  superintendent  of  the  Lafayette  city  schools,  be- 
longs to  that  class  of  middle-aged  men  who  by  thorough  training  and  close 
application  to  professional  duties  have  come  to  be  known  as  capable  and  front- 
rank  educators  in  this  section  of  Indiana,  He  was  born  September  14,  1868, 
at  Bloomington,  Indiana,  a  son  of  Milton  and  Sarah  (McCalla)  Hight.  The 
father  graduated  in  law  at  the  Indiana  University  in  1847,  t)Ut  never  followed 
his  profession  to  any  great  extent,  being  induced  to  engage  in  business  of 
another  character. 

Professor  Hight  is  descended  from  Revolutionary  stock  on  both  the 
paternal  and  maternal  sides.  The  Hight  family  originally  came  from  Germany, 
having  emigrated  to  England,  from  which  country  they  came  to  America.  The 
great-grandfather,  Thomas  Hight,  enlisted  in  the  Continental  army  from 
North  Carolina  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis.  The 
family  removed  from  Carolina  to  Virginia  in  1780  and  subsequently  moved 
to  Boyle  county,  Kentucky,  and  about  1820  to  Indiana. 


^'^/^y/t 


Tll-PECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  585 

Oil  the  mother's  side.  Professor  Hight  is  descended  from  the  great- 
grandfather, Thomas  McCalla,  who  came  from  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  when 
an  orphan  boy.  He  enhsted  in  the  Revolutionary  army  from  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania.  In  1778  he  moved  to  South  Carolina  and  served  under 
Sumpter.  He  was  captured  and  imprisoned,  but  later,  through  the  efforts  of 
his  wife,  was  released  on  parole.  His  wife  (Sarah  Wayne  Gardiner)  was  a 
cousin  of  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne.  In  1835  the  subject's  grandfather  removed 
from  South  Carolina  to  Indiana,  where  the  two  Revolutionary  families  be- 
came intermarried. 

Prof.  Robert  F.  Hight  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Bloomington, 
Indiana,  and  in  1888  took  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  at  Indiana  Univer- 
sity, where  he  specialized  in  natural  science,  under  D.  S.  Jordan,  J.  C.  Branner, 
Theophilus  Wylie  and  Daniel  Kirkwood.  Having  fully  equipped  himself  for 
the  work  of  an  educator,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  term,  from  1888  to  1891 
he  was  instructor  in  biology  in  the  high  school  at  Huntington,  Indiana.  From 
1 89 1  to  1902  he  held  the  same  position  in  the  high  school  of  the  city  of  La- 
favette  and  from  1902  to  1904  he  was  principal  of  the  high  school  at  the  last 
named  city.  He  had  so  conducted  himself  as  an  instructor  in  these  city 
school  positions  that  in  1904  he  was  chosen  the  superintendent  of  the  city 
schools  here,  and  is  still  serving  in  that  capacity,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
all  interested. 

Socially,  Professor  Hight  is  connected  with  various  societies  and  clubs, 
including  Beta  Theta  Pi  college  fraternity;  Lafayette  Club;  Parlor  Club  and 
Lafayette  Dramatic  Club,  of  which  he  was  the  president  in  1903.  He  has 
worked  as  a  dramatic  writer,  having  been  in  charge  of  this  department  for 
the  Lafayette  Morning  Journal  from  1896  to  1898. 

Professor  Hight  was  united  in  marriage  June  3,  1897,  to  Elizabeth  Puett 
Comingore.  Under  Mr.  Hight's  charge  the  public  schools  of  Lafayette,  which 
are  second  to  none  in  North  Indiana,  have  maintained  their  position.  The 
subject  is  the  author  of  the  chapter  in  this  work  on  "Literary  Characters  of 
Tippecanoe  County." 


WILLIAM  O.  CROUSE. 

The  well-known  family  of  which  William  O.  Crouse  is  an  honora'ile 
representative  is  traceable  in  this  country  to  a  remote  period  in  the  time  of 
the  colonies,  and  many  years  prior  to  coming  to  the  New  World  the  ante- 
cedents of  the  American  branch  were  quite  well  known  in  \-arious  ])arts  of 


586  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

i      •.        •' 

Germany,  where  the  name  appears  to  have  originated.  Simeon  Grouse,  the 
first  of  the  family  of  whom  there  is  definite  record,  was  doubtless  a  native 
of  Wittenberg,  as  he  figured  conspicuously  in  the  musical  circles  of  that  city 
and  for  some  years  was  choir  master  of  the  church  to  which  Martin  Luther, 
the  Great  Reformer,  ministered.  He  was  a  musician  of  much  more  than 
local  repute ;  taught  in  Wittenberg  for  many  years  and  after  losing  his  family 
by  the  red  plague,  which  sad  event  occurred  when  he  was  in  mid-life,  he 
came  about  the  year  1745  to  America  and  located  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  subsequently  re-married  and  reared  a  large  family.  He 
was  a  strong  supporter  of  the  colonies  in  their  struggle  for  independence,  con- 
tributing by  every  means  in  his  power  to  their  ultimate  success.  He  gave 
freely  of  his  means,  and  sent  four  sons  to  the  army,  two  of  whom  lost  their 
lives  in  the  battle  of  Germantown.  Simeon  Grouse  was  a  man  of  note  and 
influence  in  his  adopted  city  and  lived  to  a  remarkable  age,  dying  two  days 
prior  to  the  hundredth  anniversary  of  his  birth.  His  youngest  son.  Henry, 
whose  birth  occurred  in  Philadelphia,  married  Rachael  Hebison,  who  bore 
him  ten  children,  three  of  whom  in  after  years  came  to  Tippecanoe  county, 
Indiana,  namely :    Simeon,  John  and  David  Hebison  Grouse. 

David  Grouse,  about  the  year  1845,  located  at  Dayton,  Indiana,  where 
he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  in  due  time  became  one  of  the 
most  successful  and  best  known  physicians  and  surgeons  of  that  community. 
He  was  thrice  married  and  left  children  by  two  wives,  one  of  his  sons,  Dr. 
Jerome  Grouse,  serving  with  distinction  in  the  Tenth  Indiana  Battery  during 
the  late  Givil  war  and  subsequently  achieving  an  enviable  reputation  in  his 
profession.  He  departed  this  life  in  the  fall  of  1908,  honored  and  esteemed 
by  all  who  knew  him. 

Another  son  of  Dr.  David  Grouse  was  Meigs  V.  Grouse,  who  entered 
the  ministry  in  early  life,  but  later,  by  reason  of  the  failure  of  his  voice, 
he  was  obliged  to  give  up  that  calling  and  turn  his  attention  to  another  line 
of  duty.  For  nearly  thirty  years  he  has  been  the  efficient  and  popular  super- 
intendent of  the  Ghildren's  Home  at  Gincinnati,  and  has  made  the  institution 
a  model  of  its  kind.  Two  daughters  of  Doctor  Grouse  are  still  living,  Mrs. 
Earl,  who  resides  in  Attica,  Indiana,  and  Mrs.  Victoria  Burton,  who  occupies 
the  old  family  home  in  Dayton,  Indiana. 

John  and  Simeon  Grouse  came  west  much  earlier  than  Doctor  David, 
both  having  settled  in  Tippecanoe  county  as  long  ago  as  1827.  the  former 
in  Tippecanoe  county  and  the  latter  on  the  edge  of  Shawnee  Prairie,  in  what 
is  now  the  township  of  Jackson,  where  he  took  up  a  half  section  of  land. 
John  also  entered  a  like  amount  and  in  the  course  of  time  both  bec^me  well- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  587 

to-do  families  and  prominent  citizens,  doing  much  to  promote  the  material 
progress  and  social  advancement  of  their  respective  communities. 

Simeon  Crouse  was  born  in  1802,  and  when  a  young  man  married  Anna 
Christman,  daughter  of  Peter  and  Sarah  Christman,  who  moved  to  Indiana 
in  the  early  twenties  from  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  and  settled  in  Warren 
county,  with  the  subsequent  history  of  which  Mr.  Christman's  life  was  closely 
identified.  Sarah  Christman  was  the  daughter  of  John  Stout,  who  served 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution  as  an  officer  of  a  New  Jersey  regiment  and 
achieved  an  honorable  record  as  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier.  The  marriage 
of  Simeon  Crouse  and  Anna  Christman  was  solemnized  in  Union  county,  In- 
diana, about  the  year  1825,  some  time  before  he  became  a  resident  of  the 
county  of  Tippecanoe.  Their  children,  three  in  number,  were  Francis  M.,  born 
in  1828;  Lavina,  in  1836;  and  William  O.,  the  subject  of  this  review,  whose 
birth  occurred  in  the  year  1842. 

Simeon  Crouse  followed  agricultural  pursuits  all  his  life  and,  as  already 
indicated,  became  one  of  the  leading  farmers  of  his  township  as  well  as  one 
of  its  representative  citizens.  He  departed  this  life  in  1874  and  left  to  his 
descendants  the  memory  of  an  honorable  name  which  they  regard  as  a  price- 
less heritage.  His  children  grew  up  in  the  country,  attended  the  subscription 
schools  of  their  day  and  later  rose  to  honorable  positions  in  their  respective 
places  of  abode.  Francis  M.  was  in  the  book  business  at  Lafayette  for  a 
time,  but  disposing  of  his  interests  there  went  to  Indianapolis,  where  he 
established  a  large  book  store  and  became  one  of  the  leading  dealers  of  the 
city  in  that  line  of  trade.  He  was  a  man  of  wide  intelligence,  profoundly 
versed  in  the  literature  of  all  countries  and  all  ages,  and  possessed  remarkable 
judgment  as  to  the  merits  and  value  of  old  and  rare  books,  of  which  he  had 
long  been  a  collector.  Quiet  in  demeanor  and  of  kindly  nature,  he  had  many 
warm  friends,  and  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Indianapolis  in  1890,  was 
greatly  deplored  by  the  best  people  of  the  city. 

Lavina  Crouse  married  John  Shelby  and  died  in  1859. 

William  O.  Crouse,  the  youngest  of  the  children  of  Simeon  and  Anna 
Crouse,  spent  the  youthful  years  of  his  life  in  the  township  where  he  first 
saw  the  light  of  day  and  was  early  taught  the  lessons  of  industry  and 
frugality  which  make  for  consecutive  effort  and  permanent  success  in  mater- 
ial things,  in  addition  to  which  he  was  also  instructed  in  the  principles  of 
truth  and  honor  which  in  due  time  develop  well-rounded  character  and  fit 
their  possessor  for  the  sterner  realities  of  life.  After  finishing  the  common- 
school  course,  he  was  planning  to  enter  Wabash  College,  but  the  breaking  out 
of  the  great  Civil  war  caused  a  radical  change  in  his  calculations,  for  instead 


588  I'AST    AXn    I'RESENT 

of  prosecuting  his  studies  further  he  resolved  to  tender  his  services  to  his 
countr)'  in  its  time  of  need.  Enlisting  in  the  Eighteenth  Indiana  Battery  Light 
Artillery,  he  was  soon  at  the  front  where  during  the  ensuing  three  years  he 
bore  well  his  part  in  the  great  conflict  which  tested  the  perpetuity  of  the 
government  and  earned  a  record  for  bravery  of  which  any  soldier  might 
well  feel  proud.  Under  the  command  of  Capt.  Eli  Lilly,  of  Wilder's  Brigade 
of  Mounted  Infantry,  the  Eighteenth  Battery  passed  through  many  unusually 
trying  and  dangerous  experiences.  Supported  by  well-mounted  and  well- 
armed  men,  under  the  command  of  oiificers  of  superior  ability,  it  saw  much 
active  service  and  was  more  frequently  engaged  than  other  batteries,  the 
brigade  having  been  fifty-four  times  under  fire,  which  included  some  of  the 
most  noted  battles  of  the  war.  Among  the  various  engagements  in  which 
Mr.  Crouse  participated  were  Hoover's  Gap,  Chattanooga,  Alexander's  Bridge, 
Chickamauga,  Ringgold,  Resaca,  Hopkinsville,  Atlanta,  Xashville.  Selma. 
West  Point  and  many  others.  The  battery  started  out  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  and  during  its  experience  at  the  front  three  hundred  more  were 
recruited  from  time  to  time,  and  on  being  mustered  out  at  the  close  of  the 
war  but  twenty-six  of  the  original  force  were  left  to  tell  the  story  of  the  many 
deeds  of  daring  which  the  gallant  Eighteenth  accomplished  in  defense  of  the 
national  union. 

Returning  home  at  the  close  of  the  war,  Mr.  Crouse  entered  into  busi- 
ness with  his  brother  in  the  book  business,  which  connection  lasted  several 
years.  During  this  period  he  contracted  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  Sue  X. 
Barr,  daughter  of  Abram  and  Catherine  (Rush)  Barr,  who  moved  from  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  in  an  early  day,  and  were  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
Tippecanoe  county.  Mrs.  Barr  was  a  niece  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Benjamin 
Rush,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  of  Philadelphia,  in  Revolu- 
tionary times,  and  to  him  also  belongs  the  honor  of  being  one  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Mrs.  Crouse  comes  from  a  distinguished 
ancestry.  Her  father's  people  trace  their  line  direct  to  Maurice  Grauf,  one 
of  the  heroic  defenders  of  the  city  of  Leyden  in  Holland  in  1574.  Her 
mother's  people  are  lineal  descendants  from  Capt.  John  Rush,  an  officer  of 
horse  in  Cromwell's  army,  who  emigrated  to  this  country  from  England  with 
William  Penn  in  1683,  and  settled  near  what  is  now  Philadelphia.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Crouse  have  one  child,  a  daughter,  who  answers  to  the  name  of  Bertha 
Barr  Crouse,  and  who,  with  her  parents,  constitute  an  interesting  and  mutuallv 
agreeable  and  happy  domestic  circle. 

Since  the  year  1866.  Mr.  Crouse  has  been  engaged  in  various  lines  of 
business  in  Lafayette,  but  during  the  past  fifteen  vears  has  devoted  his  atten- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY.    IND.  589 

tion  principally  to  real  estate,  loans  and  insurance,  in  which  he  has  been  con- 
tinuously successful  and  in  every  respect  gratifying.  For  over  forty  years  he 
has  been  an  active  and  influential  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  during  which  time  he  has  held  important  offices  in  both  the  subordi- 
nate lodge  and  encampment,  besides  being  chosen  at  intervals  a  representa- 
tive to  the  grand  lodge.  Religiously  he  subscribes  to  the  Presbyterian  faith, 
and  with  his  wife  and  daughter  is  a  regular  attendant  of  the  church  in  Lafay- 
ette and  a  generous  contributor  to  its  support  and  to  the  various  lines  of 
activity  under  the  auspices  of  the  denomination  in  his  own  city  and  else- 
where. 

Mr.  Crouse  has  always  manifested  a  lively  interest  in  everything  pertain- 
ing to  the  welfare  of  the  community,  its  progress  and  upbuilding,  and  bears 
the  reputation  of  an  enterprising,  public-spirited  citizen,  with  the  good  of 
his  fellowmen  at  heart.  In  both  civil  and  military  life  he  has  demonstrated 
his  loyalty  and  love  for  his  country,  and  his  career  throughout  has  been 
above  reproach  and  greatly  to  his  credit  as  a  true  American  who  makes 
every  other  consideration  subordinate  to  his  interest  in  the  government  and 
the  free  institutions  for  the  maintenance  of  which  he  devoted  some  of  the 
best  years  of  his  life  and  under  which  he  has  achieved  marked  success.  In 
manner.  Mr.  Crouse  is  free  from  all  ostentatious  display,  but  his  intrinsic 
worth  is  recognized  and  his  friendship  most  prized  by  those  who  know  him 
best,  showing  that  his  character  will  bear  the  scrutiny  of  close  acquaintance, 
and  that  his  life  has  been  fraught  with  great  good  to  those  among  whom  his 
lot  has  been  cast  and  to  the  world  at  large. 


MICHAEL  SCHXAIBLE. 

Dark  and  dismal  was  the  tragedy  that  marked  the  coming  to  America  of 
the  well-known  familv  of  tliis  name.  Tiiey  had  long  contemplated  to  move, 
had  discussed  it  over  by  the  fireside  and  looked  with  longing  to  the  land  of 
promise  beyond  tlie  sea.  Finally  the  momentous  day  arrived,  and  during 
the  summer  of  1853  a  sailing  vessel  departing  from  a  German  port  contained 
quite  a  party  of  relatives  bound  for  the  New  \\'prld.  Michael  Sclinaible.  the 
recognized  head  of  these  emigrants,  had  long  been  a  farmer  in  Wnrttemberg, 
Germany,  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  last  century.  He  and  his  wife 
Dorothea  had  had  nine  children,  of  whom  three  had  died,  leaving  Margaret, 
Jacob.  Michael.  John,  George  and  ]\Iatt.  and  this  familv,  besides  a  number  of 


590  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

relatives,  constituted  the  party  that  took  the  ship  for  what  was  destined  to  be  a 
tragic  voyage.  In  those  days  the  passages  were  long  and  tedious,  often  con- 
suming from  a  month  to  six  weeks,  and  it  took  the  vessel  bearing  these 
natives  of  Wurttemberg  full  forty  days  to  traverse  the  Atlantic.  The  horrors 
of  the  passage  were  greatly  aggravated  by  the  breaking  out  of  cholera  in  its 
most  virulent  form,  and  forty-seven  of  the  passengers  died  of  the  disease. 
Included  in  this  number  were  the  elder  Michael  Schnaible  and  his  son  Jacob, 
his  brother  and  his  uncle,  all  of  whom  were  buried  at  sea  under  the  gruesome 
conditions  surrounding  such  fatalities.  John  Schnaible  contracted  the  disease, 
but  was  fortunate  enough  to  recover,  and  the  mother  finished  the  sad  voy- 
age with  her  remaining  five  children.  They  reached  New  York  much  de- 
pressed in  spirit  and  inclined  to  take  a  gloomy  view  of  the  outlook,  as  their 
means  were  nearly  exhausted  and  the  future  seemed  to  hold  little  for  them. 
After  a  month  or  two  in  the  great  metropolis,  they  started  West  in  February, 
1854,  and  after  a  tedious  journey  eventually  reached  Lafayette.  The  boys 
who  were  old  enough  went  to  work  at  whatever  they  could  find  to  do,  but 
in  time  an  event  occurred  which  proved  fortuitous  and  was  destined  to  in- 
fluence the  whole  subsequent  career  of  the  Schnaible  family.  Michael  found 
a  job  in  a  little  soap  factory  near  the  water-works,  and.  though  the  wages  were 
small,  he  was  delighted  with  his  good  luck.  He  held  on  until  1858,  when  he 
was  joined  by  his  brother  John,  and  the  two  continued  for  some  years  as 
faithful  employes.  This  little  factory  had  been  started  by  Peirce  and  Cherry, 
but  in  1855  the  former  sold  his  interest  to  E.  T.  Jenks,  and  the  latter  two 
years  later  bought  the  whole  business.  ^Meantime,  the  Schnaible  brothers 
had  worked  hard,  learned  all  they  could  about  the  business  and  saved  their 
money.  In  1868  they  were  able  to  buy  the  soap  factory  and  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  themselves  as  M.  &  J.  Schnaible.  Their  affairs  prospered  and  in 
due  time  they  built  a  commodious  brick  building  to  accommodate  the  factory. 
Later,  they  found  it  necessary  to  erect  an  addition  and  business  grew  apace 
until  the  soap  factory  became  one  of  the  important  industries  of  Lafayette. 

Michael  Schnaible.  senior  member  of  the  firm,  was  married  in  October. 
1863,  to  Catherine  Sattler,  who  died  in  1867,  leaving  two  children.  Elizabeth 
and  Wilhelmina.  In  1869,  Mr.  Schnaible  married  Mary  Klaiber,  of  Wurttem- 
berg, Germany,  by  whom  he  had  six  children:  John  F..  Louis.  George,  Emil, 
August  and  William  Adolpli.  John  P..  who  took  a  course  in  chemistry  at 
Purdue  University,  died  in  1908.  Emil  took  a  course  in  pharmacy  at  Purdue 
and  now  owns  a  wholesale  and  retail  drug  store  on  the  east  side  of  the  public 
square.  Louis  died  in  youth,  and  the  other  brothers.  George.  August  F.  and 
William  Adolph.  are  connected  with  the  soap   factory.     Michael  Schnaible. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  591 

l 

the  father,  died  September  20,  1899.  the  mother  having  passed  away  in  April, 
1890.  The  sister  and  the  younger  sons  reside  in  the  old  homestead  at  Seventh 
and  Heath  streets.  George,  the  third  son,  was  married  on  October  21,  1903, 
to  Anna,  daughter  of  John  Kluth,  who  came  from  Germany  in  1852,  and 
underwent  a  cholera-stricken  \oyage  similar  to  that  which  afflicted  the 
Schnaible  family  over.  George  and  Mrs.  Schnaible  have  one  child,  Ruth 
Lillian,  and  the  family  reside  in  a  handsome  home  on  North  Ninth  street, 
with  a  broad  and  beautiful  view  across  the  valley  of  the  Wabash. 

John  Schnaible,  junior  partner  with  his  brother  Michael  in  the  original 
purchase  of  the  soap  factory,  married  Mary  Mertz,  of  Baden,  by  whom  he 
had  three  children,  two  dying  in  infancy,  and  Willie,  who  passed  away  in 
early  childhood.  In  the  spring  of  1899,  shortly  before  the  death  of  Michael 
Schnaible,  the  soap  factory  business  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the 
M.  &  J.  Schnaible  Company,  and  John  F.  and  George  v.^ere  taken  in  as  equal 
partners.  Two  years  later,  August  F.  and  William  A.  were  also  taken  into 
the  company.  Thev  manufacture  laundry  soaps  exclusively,  their  principal 
brands  being  "Star  City,"  "Daylight"  and  "Does-it-easy  Naptha."  The 
business  has  grown  steadily  and  greatly  increased  in  capacity  from  the  small 
frame  structure  in  which  it  was  originally  housed.  Four  different  additions 
have  been  built  on,  as  the  increase  of  business  demanded  more  accommodation, 
and  in  recent  years  another  separate  building  has  been  erected.  The  com- 
pany's trade  extends  over  Indiana,  Ohio.  Missouri,  Iowa,  Kentucky,  Alabama 
and  West  \'irginia. 


CHARLES  H.  BRADSHAW. 

The  life  record  of  Charles  H.  Bradshaw,  one  of  the  well-known  and 
representative  citizens  of  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  shows  that  a  man  of 
industry,  energy,  fidelity  to  duty  and  right  principles  can  win  in  the  battle  of 
life  despite  obstacles,  and  his  career  could  be  studied  with  profit  by  the  youth 
whose  future  course  is  yet  to  be  determined. 

Charles  H.  Bradshaw  was  born  at  Urbana,  Illinois,  in  1858.  At  the 
age  of  two  years  his  parents  moved  to  Decatur,  that  state,  where  they  re- 
mained until  he  was  about  twelve  years  old.  From  that  time  until  he  was 
twenty-one  he  lived  in  Mattoon,  Illinois.  He  received  a  good  education,  and 
after  leaving  school  went  to  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  he  engaged  suc- 
cessfully in  the  undertaking  business  for  about  three  years.  About  1887  he 
came  to  Lafayette  and  engaged  in  the  same  line  of  business.    In  1899  he  and 


592  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Louis  Schlesselman  formed  a  partnership  in  the  undertaking  business,  con- 
ducting an  establisliment  of  their  own.  which  proved  to  be  a  fortunate  under- 
taking owing  to  their  knowledge  of  the  business  and  their  considerate  treat- 
ment of  customers.  About  1907  they  also  established  the  Lafayette  Granite 
Company,  making  monuments  and  similar  work.  This,  too,  was  a  success 
from  the  first,  and  the  firm  is  still  conducting  both  lines  of  business,  having 
become  well  established  in  each  of  them,  their  trade  extending  to  all  parts  of 
the  county. 

In  1890,  Mr.  Bradshaw  was  married  to  Amelia  Kries.  of  Lafayette, 
daughter  of  George  M.  Kries,  for  many  years  a  prominent  citizen  of  Lafay- 
ette, but  now  deceased.  This  union  has  been  blessed  by  the  birth  of  two 
children,  Charles  K.  and  Rhe  K.  The  Bradshaw  home  is  a  pleasant  one  and 
is  frequently  the  gathering  place  for  the  many  friends  of  the  family. 

In  his  fraternal  relations,  Mr.  Bradshaw  is  past  worshipful  master  of  Tip- 
pecanoe Lodge,  No.  492,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  also  past  exalted  ruler  of 
Lodge  No.  143,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks;  he  is  also  past  noble 
grand  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  22,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He 
takes  a  great  interest  in  lodge  work,  and  has  become  well  known  through  the 
several  orders  with  which  he  is  identified.  Being  prominent  in  local  political 
affairs,  he  was  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Lafayette  for  several  years, 
during  which  time  he  looked  carefully  after  the  interests  of  the  city  and  won 
the  hearty  approval  of  his  constituents.  He  is  a  Republican,  especially  in 
national  politics,  but  in  local  affairs  he  often  votes  for  the  man  whom  he 
deems  most  qualified  for  the  office  sought,  regardless  of  political  affiliations. 
He  has  never  sought  political  office,  the  office  of  city  councilman  coming 
unsought.  Personally,  Mr.  Bradshaw  is  of  pleasing  address,  sociable  and 
friendly,  thereby  winning  friends  easily. 


ROBERT  W.  SAMPLE. 

The  gemlcman  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  biographical 
re\-iew  needs  no  introduction  to  the  people  of  Tippecanoe  county  since  his 
long  and  active  life  has  been  spent  here,  a  life  devoted  not  only  to  the  fostering 
of  his  own  interests  but  also  one  given  in  a  measure  to  the  development  of 
the  community  at  large.  From  early  envirc^nments  none  too  favorable  he 
has  directed  his  efforts  in  successful  channels  until  he  is  now  president  of  one 
of  the  best  known  banking  houses  in  tJiis  part  of  the  state,  the  Fir.st  National. 


^Bl^^^r^w^-,^^^ 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  593 

Robert  \\'.  Sample  was  born  in  tbe  city  of  Lafayette  in  1833.  He  was 
one  of  seven  children  born  to  Henry  T.  and  Sarah  (Sumwalt)  Sample,  his 
parents  having  been  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Lafayetet  and  well  kiiowm 
here  in  an  early  day.  Robert  W.  Sample  was  reared  in  his  native  city,  at- 
tended the  local  schools  during  the  winter  months  and  worked  in  his  father's 
tannery  in  the  summer.  After  finishing  his  common  school  studies,  he  went 
to  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  and  attended  business  college,  after  which  he  returned  to 
his  native  city  and  became  associated  with  his  father  and  brother  John  in 
the  tannery  and  packing  house  plants.  They  also  owned  a  farm  in  Benton 
county.    Their  tannery  did  a  very  extensive  business  for  those  days. 

In  1862,  when  the  First  National  Bank  was  organized  in  Lafayette,  Mr. 
Sample  became  a  director,  and  in  1890  became  president  of  the  concern,  still 
holding  that  important  and  responsible  position.  Besides  his  banking  inter- 
ests he  owns  two  large  farms  in  this  county. 

Air.  Sample's  domestic  life  began  in  1855  when  he  married  Elizabeth 
Anderson,  born  in  Waverly,  Ohio.  After  spending  a  few  years  in  Perryville, 
Indiana,  her  parents  brought  her  to  Wea  Plains,  Tippecanoe  county,  while  she 
was  yet  a  small  child.  Like  his  father  and  mother,  Robert  W.  Sample  and 
wife  have  enjoyed  a  long  and  happy  married  life,  having  lived  to  celebrate 
their  golden  wedding  in  1905,  a  remarkable  coincidence  for  two  generations — 
father  and  son  to  celebrate  so  many  wedding  anniversaries.  This  union  was 
blessed  by  se\'en  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  infancy.  One  daughter  mar- 
ried John  Ewry,  both  husband  and  wife  now  deceased ;  they  left  one  daughter, 
Elizabeth  Ewry,  who  makes  her  home  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sample.  The  other 
children  are,  Candace,  wife  of  Doctor  Burt ;  Anna,  wife  of  Ashley  Johnson ; 
John  G.  is  teller  in  the  First  National  Bank,  and  Richard  B.  is  president  of 
the  Lafayette  Savings  Bank. 

In  their  church  connections,  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Sample  are  members  of  Trinity 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of  Lafayette.  The  Sample  home  is  a  pleasant 
one  where  the  many  friends  of  the  family  often  gather,  never  failing  to  find 
old-time  hospitality  and  good  cheer  prevailing  there. 


SCHUYLER   A.  TOWSLEY. 

xne  Lafayette  family  of  this  name  originated  in  New  York.     Alonzo 
Towsley  was  a  business  man  of  prominence  in  Seneca  county  for  many  years, 
being  extensivelv  engaged  in  getting  out  and  marketing  stone,  and  emplov- 
^38) 


594  P-^ST    AND    PRESENT 

ing  the  year  around  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  men.  He  married  Laura 
McLean,  by  whom  he  had  four  sons.  Schuyler  A.  Towsley.  the  youngest  of 
these,  was  born  at  Waterloo,  New  York,  in  1847,  and  when  eighteen  years 
old  had  charge  of  a  boat  on  the  Erie  canal,  delivering"  stone  to  various  places. 
About  1870,  his  father  met  with  heavy  losses  in  business,  which  compelled 
him  to  discontinue  operations.  Deciding  to  come  West,  Mr.  Towsley  located 
at  Detroit,  working  in  a  foundry  as  a  machinist  and  for  the  Twin  Brother 
Yeast  Company.  Subsequently  he  became  a  brakeman  on  the  Michigan 
Central  railroad  between  Detroit  and  Jackson,  Michigan.  Afterward  he  went 
to  Chicago  and  helped  establish  the  Laflin  Yeast  Company  for  Steel  &  Price, 
taking  charge  later  of  their  perfumery  and  extract  department.  It  was  an 
extensive  business  and  he  had  under  his  direction  a  corps  of  sixty  employes. 
His  health  failing,  he  secured  a  position  as  conductor  on  an  Ogden  avenue 
street  railway,  where  he  could  get  out-door  exercise.  In  two  or  three  months 
became  to  Lafayette,  and  in  1880  entered  the  employment  of  Curtis  E.  Wells 
as  traveling  salesman  in  the  queensware  and  glassware  line.  He  retained 
this  position  for  nearly  two  years  and  accepted  a  similar  position  with  Holl- 
weg  &  Reese  of  Indianapolis.  After  remaining  with  them  for  twelve  years 
he  bought  a  third  interest  in  a  yeast  business  at  Chicago,  but  it  proved  un- 
successful and  he  returned  to  Hollweg  &  Reese.  He  remained  with  them 
two  and  a  half  years  and  then  came  to  Lafayette  to  take  charge  of  the  Tows- 
ley Yeast  Company,  which  he  had  organized  a  year  previous.  In  a  short 
time,  however,  he  sold  his  interest  and  traveled  for  a  while  for  James  Dufify, 
wholesale  confectioner.  In  the  fall  of  1887  he  started  in  business  in  West 
Lafayette  with  a  small  bakery.  His  stock  consisted  of  sandwiches,  con- 
fectionery and  various  sweetmeats,  catering  especially  to  the  student  trade. 
At  that  time  there  were  only  about  six  hundred  students  in 
the  university,  but  by  constant  diligence  and  good  management 
he  built  up  a  business  that  yielded  and  still  yields  a  fair  profit. 
He  keeps  a  general  line  of  students'  supplies,  a  lunch  counter, 
dining  room  and  billiard  hall.  That  he  is  quite  popular  with  the 
students  is  shown  by  the  large  patronage  he  enjoys  from  that  source  and  the 
wide  circle  of  friends  found  among  them.  He  recently  purchased  property 
on  State  street  and  during  the  summer  of  1909  erected  a  two-story  brick 
building  with  Ijasement.  The  property  also  includes  a  residence  adjoining,  and 
the  whole  is  held  at  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  restaurant  and  students' 
supply  store  occupies  the  first  floor  of  the  new  building,  the  second  floor  being 
devoted  to  the  l)illiard  parlor,  while  the  basement  has  been  fitted  up  with 
an  up-to-date  bowling  alley. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  595 

In  1864  Mr.  Towsley  enlisted  in  the  Third  New  York  Light  Artillery, 
with  which  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  His  enlistment  was  under 
the  name  of  Richard  Towsley,  that  being  the  name  he  went  by  at  that  time. 
He  was  in  the  last  battle  of  the  war  at  Kingston.  He  keeps  as  a  precious 
heirloom  the  old  saddle  bags  and  large  pistols  that  his  father  carried  while  a 
member  of  the  New  York  militia. 

In  1878  Mr.  Towsley  married  x\bbie  Smith,  a  native  of  the  same  town 
in  New  York  where  he  himself  was  born.  They  have  had  three  children, 
Charles  S.,  Clara  C.  and  Ida  Belle.  In  the  spring  of  1905  Charles  and  Clara 
were  both  taken  away  by  death,  within  five  weeks  of  each  other,  the  first  being 
aged  fourteen  years  and  six  months  and  the  other  twelve  and  a  half  years. 
Ida  Belle  remains  at  home  attending  the  high  school.  The  family  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Trinity  Methodist  church.  Mr.  Towsley  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order,  having  taken  the  degrees  of  the  Royal  Arch  chapter.  He 
belongs  also  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  National  Union. 


GEORGE  J.  PFROMMER. 

He  whose  name  heads  this  biographical  notice  is  the  son  of  George 
Pfrommer,  a  native  of  Germany,  born  in  Wurttemberg  in  1826.  He  emi- 
grated to  America  and  came  to  Lafayette  in  1846.  coming  by  way  of  the 
Erie  canal  from  Fort  Wayne.  Until  about  1854  he  was  employed  at  var- 
ious occupations.  He  was  married  in  June,  1854,  to  Mary  Mohrenweg.  of 
Wurttemberg,  who  had  come  to  this  country  a  few  years  later  than  Mr. 
Pfrommer.  Soon  after  their  marriage  he  went  to  farming  near  the  three- 
mile  switch,  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Lafayette.  He  purchased  forty 
acres  of  land,  to  which  later  he  added  more.  On  that  farm  his  children  were 
born.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight  children,  as  follows :  ]\Iary.  who 
married  Peter  Levandowski  and  lives  in  Lafayette :  Kate,  who  married 
Herman  Kreuch,  and  she  resides  in  Peoria,  Illinois,  he  having  died  in  1900; 
Michael  is  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  on  South  Fourth  street,  Lafav- 
ette;  Maggie  died,  aged  twelve  years ;  George  J.  was  the  next  in  order  of  birth 
of  the  eight  children ;  Dora  married  Joseph  Eisele  and  lives  in  Chicago,  where 
her  husband  is  employed  as  a  railway  engineer ;  John  and  Fred  were  twins ; 
the  last  named  died  aged  four  years  and  John  died  in  1900,  aged  thirt}-- 
four  years.     He  was  married  and  left  one  daughter. 

George  J.  Pfrommer  was  born  October  17,  1862,  and  was  reared  on  a 


596  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

farm  until  aged  eighteen  years.  He  had  the  advantages  of  the  German  Luth- 
eran schools,  and  \vhen  eighteen  years  of  age  began  to  work  at  the  tile  mill 
as  its  foreman  and  remained  in  charge  for  six  years.  This  plant  he  had 
assisted  in  building  and  establishing  the  business.  After  this  business  experi- 
ence. ^Ir.  Pfrommer  was  employed  in  the  Lafayette  Car  Works  and  con- 
tinued there  until  1891.  when  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  which  he 
followed  one  year,  and  then  began  contracting  and  building,  and  still  follows 
this  line  of  work.  Li  this  he  has  been  signally  successful  and  does  excellent 
work  as  a  builder. 

Politically,  Mr.  Pfrommer  is  a  Democrat,  believing  that  this  political 
organization  best  represents  the  interests  of  the  masses  of  American  citizens. 
From  1896  to  1902  he  was  a  member  of  the  Lafayette  city  council.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church  and  served  as  its  trustee  since 
1906. 

yir.  Pfrommer  was  married  in  1886  to  Pauline  ^Nleyer.  a  native  of  Baden, 
who  came  to  this  country  in  1883.  This  union  has  been  blessed  by  three 
children,  George  W.,  John  R.  and  Lillian  M. 

Mr.  Pfrommer  has  ever  been  an  industrious  A\orker  and  an  intelligent 
citizen  of  Tippecanoe  county.  In  size  he  is  above  the  average,  is  strong  and 
robust,  genial  in  his  manners,  yet  quite  positive  and  outspoken  in  his  opinions. 
He  is  the  owner  of  a  handsome  home  and  other  valuable  property  in  Lafay- 
ette, in  which  city  he  has  the  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  admirers. 
He  is  possessed  of  a  frank,  friendly  disposition,  which  makes  him  one  of  the 
city's  popular  men  who  sees  the  practical  side  of  life. 


MORRIS  WIXFIELD  PHILLIPS. 

It  is  a  privilege  to  pass  an  hour  with  "Win"  Phillips,  the  journalist, 
lecturer,  historiographer,  student  of  Indian  traditions,  and  especial  champion 
of  the  "American  Kid."  Everybody  around  Lafayette  knows  him,  and  to 
know  him  is  to  like  him,  for  he  is  geniality  personified,  and  never  spoke  a 
word  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  most  sensitive.  ^Ir.  Phillips  has  had  his 
full  share  of  the  ups  and  downs  of  life,  has  known  the  hard  side  of  the 
couch  and  the  pinchings  of  hard  times,  as  well  as  the  rays  of  sunshine  which 
break  in  to  relieve  the  wayfarer  as  he  travels  down  life's  way.  But  mis- 
fortune has  not  soured  or  prosperity  spoiled  this  genial  child  of  nature,  who 
is  devoting  his  mature  years  and  untiring  energy  to  the  task  of  rescuing 


"TIPPECAXOE    COUNTY,    IX  D.  597 

from  oblivion  the  traditions  of  a  race  whose  history  constitutes  at  once  the 
tragedy  and  romance  of  our  history.  Mr.  PhiUips  is  of  Ohio  origin,  being 
born  at  Dayton,  February  15,  1854.  His  parents  removed  to  IndianapoHs 
when  he  was  quite  young  and  there  he  spent  his  childhood  as  well  as  the 
years  of  his  young  manhood.  In  1869  he  served  as  a  page  in  the  house  of 
representatives,  and  afterwards  resumed  his  interrupted  attendance  at  school 
and  had  completed  arrangements  for  a  college  career,  when  one  of  those  minor 
incidents  which  often  influence  men's  careers  completely  diverted  the  whole 
trend  of  his  existence.  He  had  become  acquainted  with  the  celebrated  George 
C.  Harding,  the  natural-born  editor  and  newspaper  genius,  par  excellence, 
whose  brilliant  scintillations  in  the  various  publications  at  Indianapolis  had 
delighted  a  generation  of  Indiana  admirers.  Mr.  Phillips  had  caught  the 
fancy  of  this  remarkable  man,  perhaps  because  of  his  accommodating  dis- 
position in  "catching  bait"  for  fishing  excursions  and  skill  in  finding  the  most 
promising  "poles."  The  great  editor  thought  so  much  of  the  bright  and  com- 
panionable boy  that  he  nicknamed  him  "Bullfrog  Win,"  and  many  were  the 
happy  outings  they  had  at  Broad  Ripple  and  other  points  along  WHiite  river 
and  other  fishing  streams  of  the  state.  Without  much  persuading  Mr. 
Phillips  was  indviced  to  join  ^Ir.  Harding  in  the  newspaper  field,  and  he 
remained  with  him  for  several  years  while  he  was  publishing  the  Herald. 
Later,  when  Col.  William  R.  Holloway  began  the  publication  of  the  Daily 
Times,  Mr.  Phillips  joined  the  reportorial  staff  and  continued  with  that 
paper  until  it  was  absorbed  by  the  Journal.  It  was  in  1889  that  Mr.  Phillips 
decided  to  become  a  resident  of  Lafayette,  where  he  spent  several  years  in 
miscellaneous  employment.  When  Hon.  William  S.  Haggard  began  the 
publication  of  a  morning  daily,  in  1893,  Mr.  Phillips  was  assigned  a  position 
in  the  reportorial  department  and  remained  with  the  paper  until  its  suspen- 
sion. Five  years  with  the  Lafayette  Courier,  and  a  subsequent  engagement 
with  the  Call,  brought  him  to  the  year  1903.  when  he  accepted  a  position 
with  the  JMorning  Journal. 

Aside  from  his  regular  newspaper  work.  Mr.  Phillips  has  done  consider- 
able miscellaneous  writing  as  a  contributor  to  the  Indianapolis  Star  and 
eastern  magazines.  From  an  early  period  he  was  enamored  of  the  subject 
of  Indian  life  and  traditions  and  by  persistent  study  and  research  has  become 
an  authority  on  the  aborigines  of  the  Wabash  valley.  In  1906,  while  report- 
ing memorial  exercises  at  "The  Battle  Ground,"  he  was  so  impressed  with 
the  obvious  historical  inaccuracies  that  he  entered  upon  a  study  of  the  Xiirth- 
west  Territory,  with  a  view  to  producing  a  more  reliable  account  of  the 
stirrinsf  times  incident  t-i  the  erirlv  settlement  and  furmative  i)eri(ul  of  Indiana. 


598  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Especial  attention  was  devoted  to  the  campaigns  of  Gen.  W'illiam  Henry- 
Harrison,  culminating-  in  the  famous  and  decisive  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  His 
articles  in  the  Indianapolis  Star  concerning  this  epoch-making  event  not  only 
attracted  widespread  attention,  but  were  the  means  of  bringing  to  him  a  lot 
of  valuable  data  and  original  papers  never  before  published.  One  of  the 
most  valuable  of  these  was  Judge  Isaac  Naylor's  famous  historical  sketch  of 
the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  in  which  he  took  part  as  sergeant  in  Captain  Sig- 
ger's  company  of  riflemen.  An  autobiographical  sketch  prepared  by  Judge 
Naylor,  which  was  full  of  interesting  details  of  his  adventurous  life,  was  sent 
by  Mr.  Phillips  to  the  Indiana  Quarterly  Magazine  of  History,  a  publication 
to  which  he  contributes  occasionally.  The  outcome  of  his  studies,  enthusiastic 
tours  of  the  state  in  search  of  relics  and  descendants  of  the  early  pioneers, 
is  a  lecture  on  the  general  subject  with  especial  reference  to  Harrison's  cam- 
paigns against  Tecumseh,  which  he  has  delivered  frequently  to  delighted  aud- 
iences. His  admiration  for  the  children  of  the  pioneers  and  his  conviction 
that  the  boy  has  not  had  a  fair  deal  in  history  caused  Mr.  Phillips  to  dedicate 
the  "American  Kid,"  and  both  the  title  and  contents  have  proved  a  hit  with 
the  rising  generation.  He  loves  "the  kids"  and  they  in  turn  love  him,  with 
the  result  that  Mr.  Phillips  is  regarded  as  the  most  successful  of  all  lecturers 
to  boys.  All  his  lectures  are  illustrated  with  hand-painted  views  of  Indian 
life,  obtained  from  the  United  States  department  devoted  to  such  subjects. 
His  data  and  pictures  are  historically  correct  and  the  whole  embodies  much 
information  of  absorbing  interest  to  the  student  of  our  aboriginal  history. 
Features  of  the  lecture  are  lantern-slides  of  many  valuable  paintings  and 
historical  documents,  among  them  l:eing  several  productions  of  John  Winter, 
the  famous  painter  of  early  Indian  life,  and  other  subjects  of  the  pioneer 
period.  ^Ir.  Phillips  is  the  recognized  authority  on  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe, 
of  which  he  has  exhumed  many  curious  relics,  such  as  tomahawks,  a  petrified 
ear  of  corn,  from  the  old  site  of  Prophetstown,  and  other  things  unearthed 
at  Fort  Ouiatenon,  including  a  copy  of  a  drawing  of  the  battle,  made  by  a 
soldier  who  participated  in  the  engagement.  :\Ir.  Phillips  also  has  lectures  on 
Yellowstone  park,  Yosemite  valley  and  the  Grand  canyon  of  the  Colorado, 
with  lantern-slides  colored  true  to  nature. 


WILLT.\^I  .\LFRED  LOFL.WD.  M.  D. 

To  achieve  an  eminent  standing  in  as  exacting  a  calling  as  the  medical 
profession  recjuires  something  more  than  mediocre  talents,  a  persistency  of 
purpose,  a  fidelity  to  duty  and  the  happy  faculty  of  winning  and  retaining 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  599 

the  confidence  and  good  will  of  all  classes.  These  qualifications  the  gentle- 
man whose  life  record  is  briefly  outlined  in  the  following  paragraphs  seems 
to  possess,  for  he  has,  unaided,  gradually  overcome  all  obstacles  until  he 
stands  in  the  front  rank  of  the  medical  profession  in  Tippecanoe  county,  a 
locality  widely  known  for  the  high  order  of  its  professional  talent. 

Dr.  William  Alfred  Lofland  was  born  near  Romney,  Tippecanoe  county, 
February  26,  1864,  the  son  of  John  S.  and  Nancy  A.  (McMillin)  Lofland, 
the  former  a  native  of  Crawfordsville,  Indiana.  John  S.  Lofland  came  to 
the  southern  part  of  this  county  in  his  boyhood,  and  after  attending  the  Sugar 
Grove  Academy  in  that  neighborhood,  while  working  during  the  summer 
seasons,  he  acquired  sufficient  education  to  enable  him  to  begin  teaching, 
which  he  followed  for  some  time.  But  he  abandoned  this  for  farming  after 
his  marriage,  continuing  the  latter  \ocaticn  until  within  a  few  years  prior 
to  his  death,  in  December.  1907.  He  was  a  successful  farmer  and  stock 
raiser.  Nancy  A.  ]\IcMillin  was  born  in  Tippecanoe  county,  November  7, 
1840,  the  daughter  of  the  late  John  K.  McMillin,  one  of  the  former  county 
commissioners  and  a  well  known  man  throughout  the  county.  He  was  prom- 
inent in  church  work,  also  socially,  and  took  an  abiding  interest  in  the  public 
affairs  of  the  county.  He  was  an  extensive  stock  dealer,  a  shrewd  tradesman, 
but  a  very  religious  man,  a  strict  observer  of  the  Sabbath. 

William  A.  Lofland  grew  to  maturity  on  the  old  home  farm  where  he 
assisted  with  the  work  about  the  place  during  the  summer  months,  thereby 
securing  a  sound  body  which  has  meant  much  to  him  in  his  subsequent  career. 
He  attended  the  neighboring  public  schools  in  his  boyhood,  then  took  a 
course  in  DePauw  University,  finishing  a  special  course  preparatory  to  taking 
up  the  study  of  medicine  which  had  long  been  a  dominating  passion  with  him. 
While  in  the  university  he  read  medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  G.  C.  Smythe, 
who  was  then  considered  a  very  advanced  surgeon,  ahead  of  his  time  in  fact. 
Doctor  Lofland  often  assisted  him  in  delicate  operations,  and  the  skill  thus 
acquired  early  in  life  has  greatly  aided  him  during  his  professional  career  ever 
since.  From  the  university  at  Greencastle,  Doctor  Lofland  went  to  Chicago 
and  entered  Rush  Medical  College,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated 
Fel)ruary  19,  1889,  having  made  an  excellent  record  there.  In  March  of  that 
year  he  went  to  Linden,  Montgomery  county,  and  began  the  practice  of 
medicine,  soon  having  a  fair  practice.  In  October.  1901,  he  went  to  Chicago 
and  took  a  post-graduate  course  and  then  located  in  Lafayette,  where  he  has 
since  practiced,  having  now  an  extensive  patronage  both  as  physician  and 
surgeon,  meeting  with  remarkable  success. 

Doctor  Lofland  was  married  on  Xovember  2t,.  1802.  to  Susnnna  Miller. 


600  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

the  accomplished  daughter  of  the  late  Absalom  M.  ^^liller.  who  was  county 
commissioner  at  one  time,  also  held  other  public  offices.  He  was  a  large  land 
owner,  prominent  in  the  Friends  church,  a  man  of  influence,  widely  and 
favorably  known.  To  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Lofland  two  children  have  been  born, 
a  son,  Edgar  Miller  Lofland,  born  November  i8,  1899,  who  died  December 
12,  1908.     Their  daughter,  Evelyn,  was  born  June  24,   1903. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  the  Doctor  belongs  to  Tippecanoe  Lodge,  Xo. 
123,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  He  and  his  estimable  wife  are  held  in  high 
favor  socially  in  Lafayette,  and  their  pleasant  home  is  known  as  a  place  of 
'hospitality. 


\\TLLL\AI   F.   STILL\\-ELL. 

This  well-known  Lafayette  business  man  was  born  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
August  25,  1856,  but  was  reared  in  Kentucky  until  1870,  when  he  came  to 
northwestern  Lidiana,  with  which  section  he  has  e\er  since  been  actively 
identified.  Entering  DePauw  University  shortly  after  his  arrival  here,  he 
devoted  several  years  to  the  college  curriculum  and  was  graduated  in  1877. 
Becoming  a  student  in  the  law  office  of  Hon.  John  R.  Coffroth,  in  Lafayette, 
he  remained  until  his  appointment  in  January,  1880,  as  assistant  to  the  gen- 
eral solicitor  of  the  Cincinnati,  Indianapolis  &  Lafayette  Railroad  Company 
in  charge  of  the  legal  business  of  that  company  of  the  lines  from  Crawfords- 
ville  to  Michigan  City  and  Indianapolis  to  Chicago.  In  1885  he  resigned  to 
take  charge  of  the  business  of  the  Henry  Taylor  Lumber  Company,  with 
which  he  has  ever  since  been  identified.  In  addition  to  his  duties  as  president 
of  this  company,  he  has  for  the  past  six  years  engaged  in  general  contracting 
which  identified  him  with  a  large  amount  of  important  building.  Included 
in  this  were  the  Monon  railroad  shops  at  Lafayette,  roundhouses  and  depots 
at  Indianapolis,  Lafayette,  and  other  cities  for  the  same  company,  five  build- 
ings for  the  Indiana  University,  including  the  student  building,  library,  re- 
modeling Wiley  Hall,  the  observatory  and  remodeling  of  the  law  building. 
Another  conspicuous  achievement  of  Mr.  Stillwell  was  the  construction  of  the 
stylish  hotel  at  French  Lick  and  a  subsequent  addition  to  the  same  structure. 
He  also  put  up  the  Soldiers'  Memorial  building  at  Dayton,  Ohio,  with  a  seat- 
ing capacity  of  six  thousand  people,  the  material  being  all  of  stone.  Other 
work  of  a  high  order  is  represented  in  the  court  houses  at  Michigan  City  and 
Kankakee,  Illinois,  and  the  nine-story  steel  structure  for  the  Schoff  estate 
at  Ft.  Wayne.     With  Joshua  Chew,  his  partner,  he  constructed  the  chemistry 


^>^ 


'M^-eiJe^^^  4^}iLa^^^^^ 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  60I 

building,  new  gymnasium  and  other  structures  at  Purdue  University.  In 
fact,  his  activities  have  extended  from  coast  to  coast  and  the  work  done  under 
his  direction  has  been  especially  conspicuous  for  fine  finishings  found  in  the 
buildings  of  many  cities.  His  company  achieved  international  fame  as  the 
designer  of  the  interior  tinishing  in  the  Broadway  Chambers  building,  of 
New  York,  of  which  a  miniature  was  exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exposition  and 
a  medal  awarded  for  the  American  methods  of  interior  decoration,  which 
was  pronounced  the  finest  in  the  world.  The  company  now  has  branch  lumber 
yards  at  Danville,  Illinois,  Richmond,  Indiana,  and  Stockwell,  Indiana. 

Mr.  Stillwell  married,  October  i6,  1881,  Sallie  B.,  only  daughter  of 
Henry  Taylor,  after  whose  death,  in  1885,  he  gave  up  his  law  practice  to  take 
charge  of  the  lumber  business  established  by  his  father-in-law  in  1852.  j\lr. 
Stillwell  deserxes  well  oi  the  laboring  men  of  Lafayette,  whom  he  has  em- 
ployed in  large  numbers  and  paid  good-  wages.  He  has  always  been  just  to 
men  in  his  employ,  and  his  extensive  industry,  accompanied  by  his  building 
operations,  have  been  a  source  of  wealth  and  prosperity  to  this  community 
and  the  chief  factor  in  making  happy  homes.  Governor  Matthews  appointed 
Mr.  Stillwell  as  a  member  of  the  Lafayette  city  police  board,  which  was  his 
only  political  office.  He  is  a  member  of  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  of  the  Lincoln  and  Lafayette  Clubs.  He  is  also  a  Mason,  having  advanced 
as  far  in  that  order  as  the  [Mystic  Shrine,  and  belongs  to  the  college  fraternity 
Phi  Delta  Theta.  Mr.  Stillwell's  wife  died  some  years  ago,  leaving  an  only 
daughter,  Isabel  T 


CHRISTIAN  MERTZ. 

No  foreign  country  has  furnished  so  many  worthv  and  progressive 
citizens  to  the  United  States  as  Germany,  and  of  the  vast  number  of  this 
splendid  citizenship  who  have  come  to  our  shores  and  been  assimilated  into 
our  civilization,  resulting  in  incalculable  good  to  both,  is  Christian  Alertz, 
one  of  Lafayette's  prominent  business  men,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Richels- 
hausen,  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden,  near  Lake  Constance,  in  the  year  1834. 
He  was  the  second  child  in  a  family  of  eight,  the  son  of  Johann  Matthias  and 
Katharine  (Benzing)  ^lertz,  the  former  a  native  of  Baden  and  the  latter 
of  \\'urttemberg.  Th.ey  die;l  in  their  native  b.ntl.  but  Christian  Mertz's  grand- 
father on  the  paternal  side  died  in  America,  having  come  here  in  an  early 
day.  Johann  M.  Mertz  was  the  owner  of  a  large  estate.  He  was  a  manu- 
facturer of  chemicals  and  obtained  possession  of  the  Richelshausen  estate, 


602 


PAST    AND    PRESENT 


which  was  formerly  owned  by  a  nobleman.  The  manor  house  in  which  Chris- 
tian Mertz  was  born  is  located  in  an  ideal  spot — the  Swiss  mountains,  fortress 
Hohentwiel  and  Lake  Constance  being  in  plain  view  from  the  same.  At  this 
writing  it  is  again  in  the  possession  of  a  baron.  Christian  Alertz  was  foui  - 
teen  years  old  when  the  revolution  swept  over  a  part  of  Germany ;  in  this 
his  father  took  an  active  part,  and  it  was  during  these  years  of  early  man- 
hood that  he  imbibed  the  spirit  of  freedom  and  independence,  the  atmosphere 
of  Germany  having  been  pervaded  with  such  a  spirit  at  that  time.  Mr. 
Mertz  always  regretted  that  his  education  in  advanced  studies  was  neglected, 
for  to  his  father  the  larger  affairs  of  state  and  county  seemed  all  important 
and  young  Christian  was  sent  away  from  the  Catholic  country  to  be  tutored 
by  a  Protestant  preacher  who  was  a  good  man  but  no  pedagogue.  Not 
having  an  inclination  to  serve  the  required  term  in  the  German  army,  young 
yiertz  decided  to  come  to  America  in  order  to  escape  it,  reaching  our  shores 
when  twenty  years  of  age,  his  first  voyage  having  been  made  on  an  old- 
fashioned  sailing-vessel  and  lasted  forty  days.  He  came  to  Indiana  soon 
after  his  arri\-al  in  the  New  World  and  for  some  time  lived  on  a  farm  near 
Fort  Wayne  with  relatives.  In  May,  1855,  he  moved  to  Lafayette,  making 
the  trip  on  an  Erie-Wabash  canal  packet,  drawn  by  a  mule  team.  It  was  a 
long  ride,  the  canal  being  the  principal  manner  of  transportation  in  those 
days.  Mr.  Mertz  had  made  up  his  mind  that  if  anyone  had  found  a  way  to 
succeed  in  this  new  country,  he  would  be  the  second  one.  Although  a  stranger 
in  a  foreign  land,  unacquainted  with  the  language  and  customs,  without 
friends  and  only  a  limited  capital,  he  had  the  innate  qualities  that  win  in  the 
face  of  all  obstacles  and  he,  in  due  time,  had  a  good  foothold,  first  securing 
employment  as  a  stone  sawyer  in  Wagenlander's  stone-yard.  Then  he  became 
porter  in  the  Bramble  House,  of  which  Thomas  Wood  was  proprietor.  Later 
he  worked  in  the  Lafayette  House.  These  occupations,  of  course,  were  only 
stepping-stones  until  he  could  save  enough  money  to  enable  him  to  embark 
in  business  for  himself.  From  1858  to  1861  he  engaged  in  the  retail  grocery 
business  on  Main  street  and  thereby  became  independent  of  employers.  He 
l)rospered  and  in  iH()}^  returned  to  the  Fatherland  on  a  visit.  Upon  his 
return  to  .\merica  he  became  a  partner  of  Jacob  Geyer,  and  together  they 
conducted  what  was  known  as  the  Peters  mill,  wliic'i  was  locate  1  on  Wild 
Cat  creek.  Business  still  came  his  w^ay  and  in  1871  Mr.  Mertz  made  a 
second  trip  to  Germany  and  remained  there  until  1S74.  On  his  return  trip 
to  America  he  was  shipwrecked,  the  trip  lasting  twenty  days ;  the  ship  was 
destroyed  but  no  lives  were  lost,  the  passengers  having  been  rescued  bv  a 
steamer  carrying  merchandise.     Upon  his  arrival  in  Lafavette,  Indiana,  which 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  603 

place  he  had  long  designated  as  his  home,  he  became  landlord  of  the  Bramble 
House,  where  years  ago  he  had  been  doing  menial  chores.  In  the  year  1876 
he  became  a  partner  of  Otto  K.  Weakly  and  they  conducted  the  Lahr  Hotel. 
While  under  his  able  management  the  wide  popularity  of  this  house  was 
established  and  he  and  'Sir.  Weakly  were  associated  in  business  for  a  period 
of  eighteen  years. 

During  the  early  years  of  his  hotel  business,  Mr.  ^Nlertz  purchased  an 
interest  in  the  Lafayette  Milling  Company  and  also  became  a  large  stock- 
holder in  the  Tippecanoe  Coffee  and  Spice  Mills,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Geiger-Tinney  Company,  now  doing  business  in  Indianapolis.  He  withdrew 
from  this  firm  after  having  been  associated  with  the  same  for  a  period  of 
fourteen  years.  As  president  of  the  Citizens'  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
Mr.  Mertz  assisted  to  make  this  worthy  enterprise  successful  and  popular, 
retiring  from  the  same  in  1894,  having  been  connected  with  the  same  for 
a  number  of  years. 

JNIr.  Mertz  has  done  much  to  push  forward  the  car  of  progress  in  Lafay- 
ette, always  interested  in  and  assisting  in  furthering  many  enterprises  and 
being  a  liberal  contributor  to  charitable  enterprises  and  all  movements,  in  fact, 
having  for  their  object  the  general  good.  Among  the  laudable  things  he  has 
done,  it  suffices  here  to  mention  only  the  fact  that  he  was  one  of  the  very 
first  by  his  liberal  subscription  to  the  Children's  Home  to  make  it  possible 
for  that  institution  to  own  its  property. 

At  present  Mr.  Mertz  devotes  the  major  part  of  his  time  to  the  man- 
agement of  the  Lafayette  Milling  Company,  of  which  he  has  been  president 
for  the  past  twenty-five  years,  diunng  which  time  various  changes  have  taken 
place  in  the  management  of  the  same  by  reason  of  deaths,  etc.  This  mill  was 
built  in  1885  and  it  has  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  barrels  per  dav,  being 
equipped  with  all  modern  machinery  and  appliances  for  turning  nut  first-class 
and  high-grade  flour,  meal,  bran,  etc.,  for  which  a  ready  market  is  found, 
the  prestige  of  this  mill  having-  long  since  become  wide  and  permanent.  A 
large  number  of  men  are  employed  in  its  various  departments. 

The  domestic  chapter  in  the  life  of  this  prominent  man  of  aft"airs  dates 
from  his  fifty-ninth  year,  after  an  exemplary  bachelorhood,  he  having  formed 
a  matrimonial  alliance  with  Martha  Mueller,  who  was  born  in  Stuttgart, 
Germany.  She  is  a  refined  and  affable  lady,  and  to  this  union  three  interest- 
ing children  have  lieen  born,  namely :  Fritz.  ]\L-irtha  and  Richard.  The 
Mertz  home  is  an  ideal  one.  and  ^Ir.  and  INlrs,  ]\Iertz  are  popular  in  all 
circles.  Politically,  the  former  is  a  Repulilican.  and  a  memlier  of  the  Second 
Presbvterian  church. 


604  PAST    AXD    PRESENT 


WILLIAM  KENT  LUCAS. 

In  studying  the  life  record  of  William  Kent  Lucas,  there  are  found  all 
the  elements  that  go  to  make  the  successful  man  of  affairs — excellent  ancestry, 
an  analytical  mind,  a  fidelity  to  duty,  an  unswerving  persistency  and  a  genial 
deportment — consequently  as  the  general  agent  of  the  IMonon  railroad,  with 
headquarters  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  he  has  won  a  commendable  position  in 
the  railroad  world,  in  which  he  is  widely  known.  His  birth  occurred  at 
Williamsport,  Warren  county,  this  state.  January  13,  1843.  ^^'^^  son  of  a  well- 
known  civil  engineer,  Col.  E.  F.  Lucas,  the  popular  superintendent  of  the  old 
Wabash  and  Erie  Canal,  which  position  he  held  for  many  years,  during  which 
time  he  was  much  sought  after  owing  to  his  influence  in  high  commercial 
circles.  AMien  this  canal  was  taken  over  by  the  state.  Colonel  Lucas  was  one 
of  three  commissioners  appointed  to  manage  it,  his  duties  being  that  of  super- 
intendent and  overseer,  especially  regarding  its  construction  to  Evansville. 
He  was  influential  with  the  railroads  and  attended  to  a  great  deal  of  busi- 
ness for  others.  Colonel  Lucas  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  22,  1804,  and  having  moved  to  Indiana  in  his  youth  he  was 
educated  in  the  Indiana  State  University  at  Bloomington,  and,  deciding  upon 
a  career  as  civil  engineer,  he  became  one  of  the  first  in  the  United  States,  also 
a  consulting  engineer.  He  was  at  one  time  a  colonel  in  the  state  militia. 
\\'illiam  K.  Lucas,  of  this  review,  has  in  his  possession  an  old  leather-covered 
trunk  full  of  papers,  left  by  his  father,  containing  documents  relating  to  the 
canal  and  many  letters  asking  the  Colonel's  influence  in  behalf  of  the  writers. 
In  1857  the  Wabash  railroad  sent  Colonel  Lucas  to  Lafayette  to  purchase 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  on  which  to  locate  their  shops,  but  it  is 
said  that  local  property  owners  refused  to  sell  land  for  that  purpose,  not  want- 
ing the  shops  to  come  here.  At  Ft.  \\'ayne  the  land  desired  was  donated. 
Colonel  Lucas's  death  occurred  in  1871  while  he  was  engaged  in  locating  the 
Chicago  &  Eastern  Illinois  railroad. 

William  Kent  Lucas  grew  up  on  a  farm  on  the  state  line,  remaining 
there  and  assisting  with  the  various  duties  of  the  same  from  aljnut  1849  to 
1865.  In  the  latter  year  he  went  to  Keokuk,  Iowa,  in  the  employ  of  the 
Wabash  railroad.  In  1866  Senator  Thomas  A,  Hendricks  procured  for  him 
an  appointment  in  the  railway  mail  service,  known  as  route  agent,  his  "run" 
being  on  the  Wabash  railroad,  between  Lafayette,  Indiana,  and  Toledo,  Ohio, 
he  Ijeing  chief  clerk  on  the  route,  which  position  he  very  creditalily  filled. 
In  1869  he  returned  to  Keokuk,  being  eniplnyetl  in  the  offices  of  the  Wabash 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  605 

railroad.  In  1876  Mr.  Lucas  was  appointed  agent  of  the  Rock  Island  rail- 
road, at  Keokuk,  which  position  he  held  for  about  seven  years.  So  faithful 
had  his  services  been  that  in  1883  he  was  promoted  to  the  agency  for  that 
road  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa.  Remaining  there  until  1899,  he  resigned  that 
position  and  accepted  an  offer  made  by  the  Monon  railroad  as  general  agent 
at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  which  position  he  is  faithfully  filling  at  this  writing. 

Mr.  Lucas  was  united  in  marriage,  September  19,  1872,  with  Sarah 
Shontz,  a  native  of  Harmony,  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania.  She  was  a  rep- 
resentative of  an  old  and  influential  family,  having  been  a  cousin  of  the 
famous  Theodore  P.  Shontz,  one  of  the  builders  of  the  Panama  canal.  After 
more  than  twenty-six  years  of  mutually  happy  wedded  life,  Mrs.  Lucas  passed 
to  her  rest. 

Mr.  Lucas  is  conspicuous  not  only  for  his  faithfulness  to  his  duty,  but 
also  for  his  obliging  disposition  and  his  willingness  to  do  some  kind  service 
for  others.  He  is  regarded  by  the  officials  of  the  Monon  as  one  of  their 
most  faithful  and  trusted  employes,  and  much  credit  is  due  him  for  the  large 
business  done  by  this  road  in  Lafayette.  He  and  his  sister  maintain  a  very 
neat  and  cozy  home  where  their  many  friends  are  always  welcome. 


JOHX  E.  CHAAIBERLIN. 

A  representative  citizen  of  Lafayette  and  proprietor  of  the  Chamocrlin 
Creamery  and  ice  cream  business,  the  largest  enterprise  of  the  kind  in  north- 
ern Indiana  and  among  the  largest  in  the  West,  the  subject  of  this  review 
merits  consideration  among  those  who  have  contributed  to  the  growth  of  the 
city  and  given  it  an  honorable  reputation  as  an  important  and  commercial 
center.  It  is  with  no  little  satisfaction,  therefore,  that  the  following  brief 
outline  of  his  career  and  modest  tribute  to  his  worth  is  presented.  John  E. 
Chamberlin  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  Lafayette  and  since  his  young 
manhood  vitally  interested  in  the  city's  material  advancement  and  business 
prosperity.  His  father,  David  J.  Chamberlin,  was  born  June  26,  1826,  in 
Gettysburg,  Adams  county.  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  spring  of  1849.  shortly 
after  his  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Naoma  Biggs,  moved  to  Lafayette,  Indiana, 
where  he  soon  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  J.  Shideler  &  Company, 
general  merchants  and  grain  dealers.  Subsequently  he  engaged  in  marketing, 
which  proved  successful,  and  still  later,  in  partnership  with  his  son,  he 
established   a   broom    factory,   which   he   operated   with   gratifying   financial 


6o6  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

results  for  eleven  years,  when  he  disposed  of  the  businc=b  co  devote  hia  entire 
attention  to  the  manufacture  of  butter  and  cheese,  an  enterprise  established 
in  1890  by  the  Lafayette  Creamery  Compan}'  and  purchased  by  Mr.  Cham- 
berlin  in  1893.  Under  the  name  of  D.  J.  Chamberlin  &  Son,  the  business  grew 
rapidly  and,  the  better  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  trade,  the  firm  enlarged 
its  capacity  from  time  to  time,  and  in  due  time  built  up  the  largest  estab- 
lishment of  its  kind  not  only  in  Lafayette,  but  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
state.  In  connection  with  the  making  of  butter  and  cheese  and  the  handling 
of  milk,  they  also  introduced  the  manufacture  of  ice  cream,  which,  like  the 
other  lines,  proved  successful  from  the  beginning  and  increased  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  render  necessary,  within  a  brief  period,  the  enlargement  of  their 
facilities  and  the  adoption  of  new  and  improved  methods  and  appliances.  The 
industry  has  grown  steadily  in  magnitude  and  importance  until,  as  already 
indicated,  it  has  become  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  northern  Indiana.  The 
creamery,  which  has  been  increased  to  more  than  double  its  former  capacity, 
is  the  largest  in  the  state  and  one  of  the  best  known  and  most  widely  patron- 
ized enterprises  of  the  kind  in  the  central  west.  Connected  with  the  estab- 
lishment is  a  fine  farm  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  where  are  kept  the 
high-grade  cows  which  produce  much  of  the  milk  used  in  the  creamery,  and 
the  intention  is  to  increase  the  herd  as  rapidly  as  circumstances  will  admit, 
although  at  the  present  time  recourse  is  had  to  other  sources  in  order  to 
supply  the  growing  demands  of  the  trade.  The  plant  now  gives  employment 
to  an  average  of  seventeen  hands  and  the  present  yearly  output  is  something 
in  excess  of  thirty  thousand  pounds  of  butter  and  sixty-five  thousand  gallons 
of  ice  cream,  besides  a  large  wholesale  and  retail  milk  business,  the  greater 
part  of  which  is  used  in  the  city,  although  shipments  are  frequently  made  to 
other  points.  The  plant  now  in  use  was  purchased  in  1906,  at  a  cost  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  since  which,  as  stated  above,  its  capacity  has 
been  greatly  enlarged,  new  and  improved  machinery  installed  until  the  factory 
is  niiw  fully  equipped  with  the  largest  modern  appliances  and  complete  in 
all  I  if  its  ])arts.  Although  the  business  is  still  conducted  under  the  original 
firm  name  of  D.  J.  Chamberlin  &  Son,  the  senior  partner  and  founder.  David 
J.  Chamberlin,  died  at  his  home  in  Lafayette,  Novemlaer  17.  1904.  since 
which  time  the  plant  has  been  operated  by  his  son,  John  E.  Chamberlin, 
through  whose  efforts  and  management  it  has  Ijeen  made  what  it  is  today, 
one  of  the  leading  industrial  enterprises  of  the  city  and  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful of  the  kind  in  the  entire  country. 

David  J.  Chaml>erlin   was  a   man  of   sound   practical   intelligence   and 
nn-ch  nil  re  than  orflinar\-  executive  capacity  and  every  undertaking  in  which 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  607 

he  engaged  appears  to  ha\e  prospered.  He  was  also  public  spirited  in 
matters  pertaining  to  the  impro\-enient  of  the  city,  al\va_vs  manifested  a  lively 
interest  in  the  general  welfare  of  the  community  and  was  the  embodiment 
of  manly  honor  in  all  of  his  business  and  other  relations.  The  large  enter- 
prise which  he  established,  and  with  which  his  name  is  still  associated,  bears 
witness  to  his  ability,  judgment  and  foresight,  and  its  steady  growth,  under 
the  joint  direction  of  himself  and  son  during  his  lifetime,  and  under  the 
management  of  the  latter  since  his  decease,  proves  that  it  was  well  founded 
and  that  his  mantle  has  fallen  upon  a  worthy  successor.  Elizabeth  Naoma 
Biggs,  wife  of  David  J.  Chamberlin,  was  born  near  Emmettsburg,  Frederick 
county,  Maryland,  and  departed  this  life  in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  June  26, 
1902.  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  Her  ancestors  were  among 
the  first  white  settlers  in  Virginia  and  during  the  early  wars,  between  the 
colonists  and  the  Indians.  se\-eral  of  the  family  were  killed  and  others  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  savages,  who  held  them  prisoners  until  ransomed  by 
their  relatives  or  friends.  Later,  some  of  her  people  became  well-to-do 
planters  and  slave  holders,  but  prior  to  the  Ci\'il  v,-';r  they  liberated  thc'r 
slaves  and  moved  to  a  state  upon  which  the  blight  of  involuntary  human 
servitude  has  not  been  fastened. 

David  J.  and  Elizabeth  Naoma  Chamberlin  were  the  parents  of  but  one 
child,  John  E.  Chamberlin,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  whose  birth  occurred 
in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  on  the  22d  day  of  November,  1850.  He  was  educated 
in  the  city  schools  and  while  still  young  acquired,  under  the  direction  of 
his  father,  practical  knowledge  of  business  and  matured  his  plans  for  the 
future.  In  due  time  he  became  his  father's  associate  in  the  various  lines  of 
enterprise  already  described  and  upon  the  latter's  death  succeeded  to  the 
large  establishment,  which  the  two  jointly  built  up,  and  is  now  sole  proprietor 
of  the  same:  His  career  has  been  a  large  and  useful  one,  and  an  evidence  of 
his  acumen  and  reliability  is  afforded  by  the  fact  of  his  having  steadily 
enlarged  the  establishment  with  which  he  is  identified  and  earned  a  reputa- 
tion in  business  circles  second  to  that  of  none  of  his  contemporaries  and  above 
the  slightest  suspicion  of  reproach  or  dishonor. 

Mr.  Chamberlin's  domestic  life  dates  from  December  18,  1878,  at  wliich 
time  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  I\Iary  E.  Wilson,  of  Lafayette,  daughter 
of  James  R.  Wilson,  late  of  this  city,  the  union  resulting  in  the  birth  of  se\-eral 
children,  of  whom  three  sons  survive,  viz. :  James  D.,  John  M.  and  \\"ilbur, 
all  intelligent  young  business  men  and  connected  with  the  enterprise  of 
which  their  father  is  proprietor.  ]\Ir.  Chamberlin  afiRliates  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  but  is  no  politician,  having  little  time  to  devote  to  party  affairs 


6o8  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

and  no  ambition  in  the  way  of  public  or  official  honors.  This  family,  for 
several  generations,  have  been  Methodists  in  their  religious  belief  and  the 
subject  subscribes  to  the  doctrines  of  the  same  church,  as  do  also  his  wife 
and  children.  In  his  fraternal  relations,  ]Mr.  Chamljerlin  is  an  Odd  Fellow, 
and  it  is  a  matter  worthy  of  note  that  when  he  and  his  sons  joined  the  order, 
a  part  of  the  ceremony  was  conducted  by  the  same  person  who  assisted  at 
the  initiation  of  his  father  into  the  same  lodge  forty-five  years  before.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity. 

As  the  result  of  his  ability,  energy,  economy  and  judicious  management, 
Mr.  Chamberlin  has  not  only  attained  to  a  prominent  place  in  the  business 
world,  but  has  also  achieved  marked  financial  success,  being  the  possessor 
of  an  ample  fortune  and  one  of  the  solid  and  reliable  men  of  his  city.  He 
has  ever  been  an  advocate  of  all  moral  interests,  and  endeavored  to  realize 
within  himself  the  high  ideals  of  manhood  and  citizenship,  being  straight- 
forward, honorable  and  worthy  of  respect  and  standing  for  law  and  order, 
in  all  the  terms  implied.  Few  men  in  Lafayette  are  as  widely  and  favorably 
known,  none  stand  higher  than  does  he  in  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the 
public  and  in  view  of  his  active  and  eminently  creditable  career  and  the 
influence  he  has  always  exercised  on  the  right  side  of  any  moral  question,  it 
is  proper  to  class  him  with  the  representative  men  of  his  day  and  generation 
in  the  community  honored  by  his  citizenship. 


THOMAS  WILLIAM  BURT. 

b^.-.i  in  a  political  and  business  sense  Tliomas  W.  Burt,  present  postmaster 
of  the  city  of  Lafayette,  and  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Lafavette  ]Morning 
Journal,  is  deserving  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  all  classes 
owing  to  his  public  spirit,  integrity  and  fidelity  to  duty.  By  dint  of  industry 
and  marked  innate  ability,  he  has  forged  to  the  front  among  his  contemporaries 
and  made  his  influence  felt  throughout  this  portion  of  Indiana.  He  is  popular 
among  the  laboring  classes  and  common  people,  because  he  lias  bee  nassiici- 
ated  from  youth  with  the  men  who  have  had  to  strive  for  what  thev  have 
secured  of  wealth  and  fame,  and  in  their  struggles  he  still  takes  a  lively  interest, 
and  while  not  disregarding  the  rights  of  the  capitalist  and  those  who  have 
inherited  wealth,  he  can  always  be  counted  on  as  vindicating  the  cause  of 
that  class  of  industrious  citizens  who  seek  to  better  their  condition  by  manly 
labor,  be  it  in  whatever  calling  that  labor  may  be  found  employed, 

Thomas  W.  Burt  was  born  March  12,  1861,  just  one  month  before  the 


THOMAS  \V.  BL'RT 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  609 

opening  of  the  great  Civil  war.  His  father  was  Thomas  Burt,  Sr..  who  sacri- 
ficed his  life  on  the  altar  of  his  country  in  the  struggle  to  preserve  the  Union. 
He  was  a  native  of  Ohio — the  state  so  famous  for  brave  defenders  of  our 
national  flag  in  all  wars.  He  volunteered  soon  after  the  first  call  for  men 
by  President  Lincoln,  and  for  four  long,  trying  years,  he  fought  for  the  right, 
as  he  was  given  to  see  the  right,  and  when  he  had  lived  to  see  the  new  era 
ushered  in,  his  life  had  paid  the  price  of  hardship  and  exposure  on  the  battle- 
fields of  the  Southland,  having  answered  the  last  roll-call  and  passed  from 
earth  in  1865.  Thomas  W.  Burt's  mother  was  known  in  her  maidenhood 
as  Mary  Rogers,  who  was  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  who,  for  her  second  hus- 
band, married  Thomas  Bryant. 

In  1866  young  Burt  came  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  where  he  was  reared 
to  manhood.  Here  he  received  his  education  and  has  ever  since  remained 
a  loyal  citizen  of  the  place.  When  he  was  just  entering  his  twelfth  year,  he 
began  learning  the  printer's  trade,  and  in  1890  he  became  associated  with 
the  Spring-Emerson  Stationery  Company,  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known 
houses  in  that  line  of  goods  in  the  state.  It  was  established  as  early  as  1836 
by  John  Rosser  and  has  flourished  for  three-quarters  of  a  century.  In  1897 
the  company  was,  however,  reorganized.  Mr.  Burt,  who  had  mastered  the 
details  of  the  business  and  had  proven  a  most  capable  employe,  was  made  a 
partner  in  the  firm,  the  name  being  changed  to  the  Burt-Terry  Stationery 
Company.  Frank  and  Charles  Terry  being  the  other  interested  parties.  In 
his  new  role,  Mr.  Burt  was  signally  successful  from  the  start,  and  won 
friends  and  regular  patrons  by  his  own  personality  and  the  high  grade  of 
goods  which  his  judgment  taught  him  was  the  best  line  to  deal  in.  ^\"ith 
natural  business  ability,  aided  by  genial  manners  and  rare  soundness  of 
judgment,  success  was  soon  within  his  grasp.  Later  the  firm  became  the  well- 
known  Burt-Terry-Wilson  Company,  and  in  the  year  1902  the  company  ab- 
sorbed the  -Daily  Morning  Journal,  which  is  now  known  as  the  Burt-Haywood 
Company,  incorporated  in  1902  at  a  capital  of  seventy-five  thousan;l  dol- 
lars, and  it  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  the  state,  employing  one  hun- 
dred and  tliivty  to  nne  hundred  .and  fifty  persons.  The  jilmt  is  e(|nippe  1  with 
expensive  in-ichinery  of  the  latest  designs.  Mr.  Burt  is  now  nianiger  of  this 
large  enterprise,  which  would  be  a  credit  to  any  city.  Many  large  jobs  are 
constantly  turned  out  and  the  work  is  always  satisfactory,  for  only  high-grade 
material  is  used  and  only  skilled  mechanics  are  employed  by  this  fn-m.  the 
reputation  of  wliich  is  now  far-reacliing. 

In  politics,  ^Ir.  Burt  is  a  Republican  and  has  lieen  active  in  the  affairs 
of  his  partv  for  thirtv  vears.  in  fact,  a  leader  in  local  matters,  his  counsel 
(39) 


6lO  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

often  being  sought  by  his  co-workers  and  local  candidates.  He  very  credit- 
ably served  one  term  as  city  clerk  from  1894  to  1898  and  on  February  19. 
1906,  he  was  further  honored  b}'  being  appointed  postmaster  of  Lafayette, 
and  he  assumed  charge  of  the  office  on  March  ist  of  the  same  year,  and  he  is 
now  filling  this  important  position  with  honor  to  himself  and  credit  to  the 
community. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Burt  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  including  the 
Scottish  Rite  at  Indianapolis  and  the  Commandery  at  Lafayette.  He  also 
belongs  to  the  Ancient  Araliic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine 
and  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Druids.  He  takes  an  abiding  interest  in 
all  of  these  orders  and  one  would  judge  from  his  daily  life  among  his  fellow 
men  that  he  attempts  to  carry  out  their  high  precepts. 

The  Lafayette  Journal,  with  which  Mr.  Burt  is  connected,  is  too  well 
known  to  the  people  of  this  locality  to  need  commenting  on.  It  wields  a 
po\yerful  influence  wherever  it  reaches  in  moulding  public  opinion  and  it 
holds  high  rank  with  the  clean,  trenchant,  wide-awake,  modern  journals  of 
the  present  day,  ably  managed  in  every  department  and  a  success  from  a 
financial  standpoint. 

Thomas  W.  Burt  was  married  on  April  25,  1886,  to  Elizabeth  F.  Kich- 
ler,  a  native  of  Lafayette,  the  daughter  of  Adam  and  Sarah  Elizabeth  Kich- 
ler,  a  well  known  family  of  this  city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burt  are  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Mary  E.,  who  was  educated  in  Lafayette  and  Washington. 
District  of  Columbia.  Edgar  H.,  now  sixteen  years  of  age  (1909),  is  a  high 
school  pupil. 


CAPT.  JOHN  W.  MITCHELL. 

It  is  with  no  little  gratification  that  the  biographer  in  this  connection 
addresses  himself  to  the  task  of  placing  on  record  the  principal  facts  in  the 
career  of  the  honored  soldier  and  esteemed  civilian  whose  name  appears 
abn\e.  a  man  who  distinguished  himself  on  many  bloody  battlefields  during 
the  dark  days  of  our  national  history  and  who,  since  the  close  of  that 
conflict,  has  lilxired  for  the  good  of  his  fellows  and  filled  worthily  important 
public  trusts.  John  W.  Mitchell,  postmaster  of  the  State  Soldiers'  Home, 
at  Lafayette,  is  a  native  of  Burlington  county.  New  Jersey,  and  was  born  in 
historic  old  Bordentown,  on  the  19th  day  of  February,  1844.  His  father 
was  William  Mitchell,  whose  birth  occurred  at  the  same  place,  and  his 
miither.  Imngiiie  l'';u'num,  alsn  a  native  of  New  Tersev,  was  born  and  reared 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  6ll 

in  the  town  of  Mt.  Holly.  These  parents  were  married  in  the  state  of  their 
birth  and  there  continued  to  reside  until  1865,  when  they  moved  to  Lafayette, 
Indiana,  where  William  Mitchell  became  a  successful  contractor  and  builder, 
which  vocation  he  followed  until  retiring  from  active  life.  He  was  a  man 
of  good,  practical  intelligence  and  well  balanced  judgment  and  during  his 
residence  in  Lafayette  he  earned  the  reputation  of  a  capable  and  thoroughly 
reliable  business  man,  and  enjoyed  to  a  marked  degree  the  esteem  and  con- 
fidence of  the  people  of  the  city.  He  lived  a  long  and  useful  life,  which 
terminated  May  17,  1905,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years.  His  wife  preceded 
him  to  the  grave  on  May  iS,  1886.  Their  family  consisted  of  seven  children, 
whose  names  are  as  follows :  James  H.,  ex-treasurer  of  Lafayette  and  by 
occupation  a  contractor  and  builder;  John  W.,  of  this  sketch;  Lucy,  who 
married  Mahlon  S.  Conley,  of  Los  Angeles,  California;  George  E.,  a  mer- 
chant of  that  city;  Mary,  wife  of  Norris  S.  Shafifer,  a  railway  conductor 
living  at  Chicago;  William,  of  Butte,  Montana,  a  printer  and  newspaper 
man,  and  Edward  G.,  who  follows  mechanical  pursuits  in  the  city  of 
Lafayette. 

John  W.  Mitchell  spent  his  early  life  in  his  native  town  and  received 
a  good  education  in  the  schools  of  the  same.  He  remained  with  his  parents 
until  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  responded  to  the  President's  call  for 
volunteers,-  enlisting  in  June,  1862,  in  Company  B,  Twelfth  Regiment  New 
Jersey  \^olunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  shared  the  vicissitudes  and  fortunes 
of  war  for  a  period  of  three  years.  His  regiment  formed  a  part  of  the 
Second  Army  Corps  almost  from  the  time  of  reaching  the  front,  taking  part 
in  the  various  Virginia  campaigns  and  pai'ticipating  in  the  numerous  battles 
and  skirmishes  in  which  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  engaged.  Captain 
Mitchell  received  his  first  baptism  of  fire  at  Chancellorsville,  where  he  was 
wounded  in  the  arm,  though  not  so  severely  as  to  incapacitate  him  permanent- 
ly for  duty.  During  his  first  two  years  in  the  service  he  held  the  rank  of 
sergeant  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant 
of  Company  D,  of  which  he  afterwards  became  captain,  continuing  in  the 
latter  capacity  until  his  discharge.  Captain  Mitchell's  term  of  service  in- 
cluded some  of  the  most  severe  fighting  of  the  war,  as  may  be  inferred  from 
the  following  engagements,  in  which  he  participated:  Chancellorsville, 
Gettysburg,  Falling  Waters.  Auburn  Mills,  Bristow  Station,  Blackburn's 
Ford.  Kelly's  Ford,  Robinson's  Tavern,  Mine  Run,  Alsop's  House,  Po  River, 
Laurel  Hill,  Spottsylvania,  Landrum  House,  Milford,  North  Anna  (three 
engagements),  three  battles  of  Peterslnirg.  Sailor's  Creek.  High  Bridge. 
Farmville.    Appomattox,    besides    a    number    of    minor    engagements    and 


6l2  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

skirmishes,  in  all  of  which  he  bore  his  part  as  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier 
and  in  not  a  few  attracted  the  favorable  attention  of  his  superior  officers. 
It  is  doubtful  if  any  survivor  of  the  Civil  war  can  produce  a  record  of  such 
continuous  service  and,  as  far  as  known,  there  is  today  no  living  soldier  who 
took  part  in  as  great  a  number  of  battles  and  skirmishes  as  the  foregoing 
list.  The  Twelfth  New  Jersey  Regiment  entered  the  service  one  thousand 
strong,  but  at  the  close  of  the  struggle  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  had 
been  killed  in  battle,  one  hundred  and  one  died  of  disease,  four  hundred  and 
ten  were  wounded,  making  a  total  loss  of  six  hundred  and  eighty-eight, 
a  record  of  casualties  such  as  few  regiments  can  produce. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  enlistment,  in  1865,  Captain  ^Mitchell 
was  honorably  discharged,  after  which  he  came  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  where 
he  rejoined  his  parents,  who  had  moved  to  the  city  in  the  spring  of  that  year. 
Within  a  short  time,  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  business,  but  a  few  months 
later  disposed  of  his  stock  and  began  contracting  and  building,  being  a  prac- 
tical mechanic  and  well  fitted  for  the  line  of  work  to  which  he  devoted  his 
attention  for  a  number  of  years  following.  In  September,  1907,  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  of  the  Soldiers'  Home  branch  of  the  Lafayette  post- 
ofifice  and  has  since  given  his  time  wholly  to  the  duties  of  the  position,  prov- 
ing a  capable  and  obliging  official  and  adding  honor  to  an  institution  of 
which  the  people  of  Indiana  feel  deservedly  proud. 

Captain  Mitchell  was  married  March  23,  1876,  to  Hallie  J.  Zimmerman, 
of  Richmond,  Indiana,  daughter  of  William  Zimmerman,  of  that  city,  three 
children  resulting  from  the  union,  viz. :  Singleton  R.,  a  college  professor 
in  New  ^ilexico ;  Nellie  B.,  her  father's  efficient  deputy  in  the  postofifice,  and 
Norris  S.,  who  lives  in  El  Paso,  Texas.  Mrs.  Mitchell,  a  most  excellent  and 
highly  esteemed  lady,  of  beautiful  education  and  high  ideals,  departed  this 
life  on  the  i8th  day  of  October,  1905,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years. 

The  Captain  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  previous  to  his  appointment 
to  the  position  he  now  holds,  served  as  deputy  city  treasurer  of  Lafayette. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men.  the  Order  of  Ben  Hur, 
and  is  a  leading  worker  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic;  also  of  the 
L^nion  Veteran  Legion,  in  the  first  named  of  which  he  has  taken  the  Pocahon- 
tas and  Havniaker's  degrees. 


WILLIAM  VAUGHN  STUART. 

It  is  one  of  the  beauties  of  our  government  that  it  acknowledges  no 
hereditary  rank  of  title — no  patent  of  nobility  save  that  of  nature's,  leaving 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  613 

every  man  to  establish  his  own  rank  by  becoming  the  artificer  of  his  own 
fortune.  Places  of  honor  or  trust,  rank  and  preferment  thus  happily  placed 
before  every  individual,  to  be  striven  for  by  all,  but  earned  alone  by  perse- 
verance and  sterling  worth,  are  almost  always  sure  to  be  filled  with  deserving 
men,  or  at  least  by  those  possessing  the  energy  and  talent  essential  to  success 
in  contests  where  public  position  is  the  prize.  William  V.  Stuart  affords  a 
conspicuous  example  of  the  successful  self-made  American,  who  has  shown 
that  he  possesses  the  qualifications  that  fit  him  to  discharge  worthily  the  duties 
that  have  been  entrusted  in  him.  A  man  of  vigorous  mentality  and  strong 
moral  fiber,  he  has  achieved  signal  success  in  a  calling  in  which  but  few  rise 
above  mediocrity. 

Mr.  Stuart,  one  of  Lafayette's  best  known  attorneys,  was  born  at  Logans- 
port,  Indiana,  November  i,  1857,  the  son  of  William  Z.  and  Sarah  (Bene- 
dict) Stuart,  the  former  having  been  born  in  Dedham,  Massachusetts,  while 
his  father  sojourned  here,  having  been  on  a  mission  for  the  British  govern- 
ment, but  he  returned  to  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  with  his  parents.  He  ran  away 
from  home  when  a  mere  youth,  and  after  satisfying  his  desire  of  adventure 
by  circumnavigating  the  globe  two  or  three  times,  finally  came  to  America 
about  1828.  He  attended  Amherst  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1833.  About  1836  he  moved  to  Logansport,  Indiana,  and  began  there  the 
practice  of  law  in  a  short  time.  He  became  eminent  in  his  chosen  profession, 
and  was  at  one  time  prosecuting  attorney  of  Cass  county.  Taking  an  active 
interest  in  political  affairs,  he  was  elected  representative  of  his  county  and 
very  ably  served  his  constituents  in  the  state  legislature.  He  was  sent  to  the 
constitutional  convention  in  185 1.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  in  October,  1852,  the  duties  of  which  he  faithfully  discharged  until 
January,  1858,  when  he  resigned  to  become  the  general  attorney  of  what  was 
then  the  Toledo,  Wabash  &  Western  railroad,  now  known  as  the  Wabash. 
He  twice  received  the  nomination  of  his  party  for  congress  to  run  against 
Schuyler  Colfax,  but  went  down  in  the  general  defeat  of  the  Democratic 
ticket,  but  he  made  a  very  spirited  contest  for  the  office.  He  continued  the 
successful  practice  of  law  until  his  death.  May  7,  1876.  He  was  one  of  the 
best  known  and  most  influential  men  of  his  day  and  generation  in  northern 
Indiana.  A  lawyer  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  a  judge  of  rare  judicial 
analysis  and  a  public  servant  that  had  no  equal,  his  integrity  and  affability 
commended  him  most  favorably  to  all  classes. 

Some  of  his  sterling  traits  seem  to  have  been  inherited  by  his  son,  Wil- 
liam V.  Stuart,  who  was  greatly  assisted  in  his  youth  by  his  father  whose 


6l4  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

guidance  along  the  early  legal  road  was  of  inestimable  value.  He  was  grad- 
uated from  the  Williston  Seminary  at  East  Hampton.  Massachusetts,  in  1876, 
and  in  1S80  he  was  graduated  from  Amherst  College,  having  made  a  very 
commendable  record  in  each. 

After  leaving  the  last-named  institution,  Mr.  Stuart  returned  to  Lafay- 
ette and  entered  the  law  office  of  his  brothers,  Charles  B.  and  Thomas  Arthur 
Stuart.  In  1881  and  1882  he  was  a  student  at  the  Columbia  Law  School. 
Returning  to  Lafayette,  he  went  into  partnership  with  his  brother,  Charles 
B.,  the  firm  being  known  as  C.  B.  &  W.  V.  Stuart,  continuing  successfully 
until  in  1889  they  formed  a  partnership  known  as  the  Stuart  Brothers,  con- 
sisting of  the  three  brothers  mentioned  in  this  paragraph.  They  continued 
thus  until  in  August,  1892,  when  the  death  of  Thomas  A.  Stuart  occurred 
and  Judge  E.  P.  Hammond  was  taken  into  the  firm,  and  it  became  known 
as  Stuart  Brothers  &  Hammond.  The  firm  was  again  changed  in  1899,  '" 
which  year  the  death  of  Charles  B.  Stuart  occurred,  and  D.  W.  Simms  was 
admitted  to  the  firm,  known  as  Stuart,  Hammond  &  Simms,  which  has  re- 
mained the  style  of  the  firm  to  the  present  day,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no 
stronger  firm  is  to  be  found  in  this  or  adjoining  counties.  They  have  a 
large  and  up-to-date  law  library  and  few  cases  of  great  importance  are  tried 
in  local  courts  without  this  firm  being  represented. 

In  May,  1887,  William  V.  Stuart  was  elected  mayor  of  Lafayette,  the 
duties  of  which  important  office  he  very  faithfully  discharged  for  a  period 
of  two  years,  during  the  course  of  which  many  substantial  improvements  were 
inaugurated  and  the  interests  of  the  public  carefully  conserved.  In  1899,  Mr. 
Stuart  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Purdue  University, 
later  elected  president  of  the  board,  serving  in  that  capacity  until  June,  1907. 
Having  the  interests  of  this  great  institution  at  heart,  he  gave  it  his  best 
services. 

June  17,  1896,  ^^"illiam  V,  Stuart  was  married  to  ]\Iiss  Geneve  Reynolds, 
the  talented  and  cultured  daughter  of  James  M,  Reynolds,  formerly  general 
manager  of  the  Monon  railroad  and  a  man  prominent  in  railroad  circles  for 
many  years.  The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stuart  has  been  blessed  by  the 
birth  of  one  daughter,  who  answers  to  the  name  of  Sophie  Wolcott.  The 
date  of  her  birth  was  October  i,  1899. 

Besides  his  individual  law  practice,  which  keeps  him  very  busy,  Mr. 
Stuart  is  the  manager  of  business  interests  of  no  small  magnitude,  and  he 
ranks  deservedly  high  in  business,  legal  and  social  circles  of  this  county,  a 
worthy  son  of  a  worthy  sire.    Companionable  and  unassuming,  public-spirited 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  615 

and  progressive  in  all  that  the  term  implies,  he  occupies  a  position  of  influ- 
ence and  honor  in  a  community  noted  for  the  high  order  of  its  citizenship. 


GEORGE  WINTER. 

oeorge  Winter  was  born  at  Port  Sea,  England,  in  1810,  of  a  talented 
and  cultured  family  and  the  youngest  of  fourteen  children.  The  foundations 
for  his  subsequent  career  as  a  noted  artist  were  laid  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, for  he  was  brought  up  amid  the  most  propitious  environment — an 
art  atmosphere — and  his  genius  was  fostered  and  encouraged.  After  a  pre- 
liminary course  of  private  instruction,  he  went  to  London,  entered  the  Royal 
Academy,  and  there  lived  and  worked  with  artists  for  four  years,  making 
rapid  headway  in  his  chosen  calling.  About  1830,  when  twenty  years  of  age, 
he  came  to  New  York  city,  and  after  a  residence  of  seven  years  in  the 
metropolis  started  for  the  middle  West,  landing  at  Logansport,  Indiana.  As 
he  once  expressed  it,  he  was  lured  to  Indiana  in  order  to  be  present  at  the 
councils  of  Col.  A.  C.  Pepper,  of  the  village  of  Kuwau-Nay,  in  regard  to  the 
Pottawatomie  emigfation  west  of  the  Mississippi.  He  had  an  artist's  inter- 
est in  the  red  men  of  the  West,  and  many  of  his  famous  paintings  are  of 
Pottawatomie  and  Miami  chiefs.  In  1837,  at  the  request  of  her  family,  Mr. 
Winter  visited  Frances  Slocum  at  her  home  in  Deaf  Man's  Village,  near 
Peru,  Indiana,  and  made  a  portrait  of  her.  She  was  famous  for  having 
been  stolen  by  Indians  from  her  white  parents  in  Pennsylvania  when  only 
three  years  of  age,  and  she  lived  all  her  subsequent  life  with  the  Indians  as 
one  of  them.  She  revealed  her  identity  to  Col.  G.  W.  Ewing,  of  Fort  Wayne, 
when  she  was  past  middle  life  and  thought  to  be  on  her  death  bed.  While 
she  recovered  and  lived  many  years  afterward,  she  refused  to  leave  her 
Indian  friends  and  take  up  her  residence  with  her  own  relatives. 

In  1840  Mr.  Winter  married  Mary  Squier,  of  New  Carlisle,  Ohio.  She 
was  born  at  Dayton,  that  state,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Timothy  and  Rebecca 
(Tucker)  Squier,  the  former  the  son  of  the  famous  Revolutionary  soldier, 
Ellis  Squier,  who  was  born  in  Essex  county.  New  Jersey,  September  17, 
1746,  and  was  in  the  New  Jersey  militia,  subject  to  call  for  special  duty  in  the 
Revolutionary  Avar  when  needed  for  emergencies  or  to  fill  out  a  company 
short  of  men.  He  died  in  Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  in  August,  1824.  To' 
George  Winter  and  wife  three  children  were  born,  namely:     Annette,  now 


6l6  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

the  wife  of  Gordon  Ball,  a  prominent  resident  of  Lafayette;  George  W'inter, 
Jr.,  the  eldest  of  the  family;  and  Agnes,  who  died  in  childhood. 

It  was  about  1840  when  Mr.  Winter  produced  many  of  his  best  known 
pictures,  especially  those  depicting  Indian  life  and  the  battlefield  of  Tippe- 
canoe. He  remained  at  Logansport  until  1850,  in  which  year  he  moved  to 
Lafayette,  residing  in  the  latter  city  until  his  death  with  the  exception  of 
three  years,  from  1873  to  1876,  which  were  spent  in  California.  He  died 
suddenly  in  1876  while  seated  in  a  public  audience  at  an  opera  house,  having 
been  seized  with  apoplexy.     His  widow  survived  him  until  August  11,  1899. 

Besides  a  great  number  of  oil  paintings  and  works  in  water  color  and 
ivory  miniature,  which  are  of  both  artistic  and  historical  value,  Mr.  Winter 
left  some  writings  in  connection  with  them  that  are  very  interesting  from  an 
historical  view.  A  more  extended  description  of  his  work  will  be  found  in 
this  volume  in  the  article  dealing  with  local  art.  One  of  his  paintings  is  of 
himself  when  a  young  man.  It  shows  the  deep  blue  eyes,  calm,  clear,  ex- 
pressive, and  the  fine,  clear-cut  features  of  a  face  of  a  man  evidently  of  poetic 
temperament,  surmounted  by  chestnut  hair  in  curls  and  ringlets.  In  later 
life  he  became  stouter  and  more  portly.  As  might  be  surmised,  he  was  a  man 
who  loved  nature,  and  the  Indians  had  a  fascination  for  one  of  his  poetic 
temperament,  and  his  interest  in  them  was  potent  in  shaping  his  career.  He 
has  by  his  brush  and  pen  rendered  high  service  to  historic  Tippecanoe.  He 
was  truly  a  great  man,  a  man  whom  to  know  was  to  respect  not  only  for  his 
marked  talent,  but  also  for  his  pleasing  address  and  his  exemplary  life. 


HENRY  TAYLOR. 

This  formerly  well-known  citizen,  long  since  deceased,  is  kindly  remem- 
bered by  many  of  the  older  generation  as  one  of  Lafayette's  progressive  men. 
He  was  born  at  Hamilton,  Ohio,  January  18,  1826,  and  resided  in  the  place 
of  his  nativity  until  he  had  completed  his  twenty-sixth  year.  He  went  through 
the  public  schools  in  the  usual  way  and  attended  Miami  University  at  the  same 
time  that  Governor  Morton  was  a  member  of  the  student  body  in  that  insti- 
tution. Ever  afterwards  he  and  the  famous  War  Governor  were  warm  friends 
and  often  met  during  "the  days  that  tried  men's  souls."  After  leaving  the 
university  Mr.  Taylor  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Thomas  Milligan  at  Hamil- 
ton, but  the  confinement  and  close  application  to  books  threatened  his  health 
to  such  an  extent  that  he  abandoned  his  ambition  to  become  a  lawyer.     Re- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  617 

moving  to  Lafayette  he  engaged  in  the  kimber  business,  met  with  increasing 
success  from  year  to  year  until  eventually  the  Henry  Taylor  Lumber  Com- 
pany was  recognized  as  one  of  the  important  industries  of  Lafayette.  The 
business  was  greatly  extended  after  his  death  by  the  energetic  management 
of  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Stillwell.  Mr.  Taylor,  aside  from  his  private  concerns, 
always  found  time  to  take  an  active  interest  in  public  affairs  or  whatever 
was  calculated  to  benefit  the  city.  In  i860  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Morton  one  of  the  trustees  having  in  charge  the  establishment  of  Purdue 
University,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  having  it  located  at  its  present 
site.  Lafayette  owes  him  an  unpayable  debt  of  gratitude  for  his  invaluable 
services  in  this  important  matter.  In  1870  Mr.  Taylor  was  nominated  on  the 
Republican  ticket  as  a  candidate  for  state  senator,  was  elected  and  served  until 
1874. 

In  1852,  Mr.  Taylor  married  Isabelle  D.  Sample,  and  their  wedding  trip 
emphasizes  the  contrast  between  the  transportation  systems  of  that  day  and 
this.  The  first  stage  of  their  journey  from  Lafayette  to  Indianapolis  was 
made  in  a  coach  and  four,  from  there  to  the  Ohio  river  at  Madison  by  the 
only  railroad  in  the  state  at  that  time,  and  up  the  river  to  Cincinnati,  their 
objective  point  being  Hamilton.  Ohio.  Mrs.  Taylor  was  the  daughter  of 
Henry  T.  and  Sarah  (Sumwalt)  Sample,  the  latter  a  native  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland.  The  father  was  born  near  Middletown,  Ohio,  in  1805,  and  came 
to  Lafayette  from  \\'inchester,  Indiana,  on  a  trading  trip,  just  one  week 
after  the  city  was  first  laid  out.  In  the  following  year,  1826,  he  married  Sarah 
Sumwalt  and  came  to  Lafayette  to  live.  He  owned  a  tannery,  a  pork  and 
beef  packing  establishment  and  a  large  stock  farm  in  Benton  county.  He 
became  prosperous  and  was  noted  as  a  man  of  influence  and  public  spirit.  His 
only  living  children  are  Mrs.  Taylor,  Mrs.  David  McBride  and  Robert  W. 
Sample.  Henry  Taylor  and  his  wife  were  warm  personal  friends  of  Governor 
Morton  and  whenever  he  visited  Lafayette  he  was  a  welcome  guest  at  their 
hospitable  abode. 

In  the  early  part  of  1884  Mr.  Taylor  completed  the  construction  of  a 
beautiful  residence  standing  on  high  ground  surn  untied  liv  well-kept  h'viis 
and  commanding  a  wide  view  over  a  wide  area.  Under  the  guidance  of  IMrs. 
Taylor,  and  directed  by  her  good  taste,  this  home  was  handsomely  furnished 
and  possessed  all  the  conveniences  of  a  fashionable  dwelling.  It  was  such  a 
place  as  one  would  pick  out  as  a  retreat  for  his  latter  days,  but  alas  for  the 
vanity  of  human  wishes,  scarcely  six  months  had  elapsed  when  the  designer 
and  builder  was  in  his  grave.     For  more  than  thirtv-two  vears  Henrv  Tavlor 


6l8  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

had  been  at  the  head  of  a  liousehold  in  which  lie  found  his  chief  dehght.  Of 
his  two  children,  one  died  in  infancy  and  the  other,  Salhe  B.  Taylor,  married 
William  F.  Stilhvell.  In  1898,  she  too  was  called  to  follow  her  father,  leav- 
ing an  only  daughter,  Isabel  F.  Stillwell,  who  resides  with  her  father  and 
grandmother  at  the  Taylor  homestead. 


HON.  ROBERT  P.  DAVIDSON. 

Standing  out  distinctly  as  one  of  the  central  figures  of  the  judiciary  of 
Indiana  in  his  day  and  generation  is  the  name  of  Hon.  Robert  P.  Davidson. 
Prominent  in  legal  circles  and  equally  so  in  public  matters  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  his  own  jurisdiction,  with  a  brilliant  reputation  in  one  of  the  most 
exacting  of  professions  that  won  him  a  name  for  distinguished  service  second 
to  that  of  none  of  his  contemporaries,  there  was  long  no  more  prominent 
or  honored  man  in  the  locality  which  he  dignified  with  his  citizenship.  Wear- 
ing the  judicial  ermine  with  becoming  dignity  and  bringing  to  every  case 
submitted  to  him  a  clearness  of  perception  and  power  of  analysis  character- 
istic of  the  learned  jurist,  his  name  and  work  for  years  was  allied  with  the 
legal  institutions,  public  enterprises  and  political  interests  of  the  state  in  such 
a  way  as  to  earn  him  recognition  as  one  of  the  distinguished  citizens  of  a 
community  noted  for  the  high  order  of  its  talent.  A  high  purpose  and  an 
unconquerable  will,  vigorous  mental  powers,  diligent  study  and  devotion  to 
duty  are  some  of  the  means  by  which  he  made  himself  eminently  useful,  and 
every  ambitious  youth  who  fights  the  battle  of  life  with  the  prospect  of 
ultimate  success  may  peruse  with  profit  the  biography  herewith  presented. 
Although  the  earthly  career  of  this  distinguished  gentleman  closed  on 
Wednesday  evening,  April  14,  1909,  after  an  illness  lasting  from  December 
31,  1908,  his  influence  still,  pervades  the  lives  of  those  with  whom  he  asso- 
ciated. He  was  the  oldest  member  of  the  Tippecanoe  county  bar,  a  lone  tree 
in  what  was  once  a  mighty  forest  of  stalwarts ;  eminent  in  the  legal  profes- 
sion, a  high  type  of  American  citizenship  and  a  devoted  Christian,  whose 
intelligence,  friendship,  integrity  and  general  character  won  for  him  a  circle 
of  friends  described  in  number  by  the  one  word  legion.  In  reviewing  the 
life-work-  and  character  of  so  important  a  citizen  as  he  who  but  yesterday 
walked  and  mingled  with  his  fellowmen,  performing  every  known  duty, 
guided  only  by  the  manly  traits  that  men  and  women  evervwhere  call  noble, 
the  biographer  can  not  hope  to  give  the  reader  more  than  a  glimpse  of  this 
busy  man's  well-spent  career. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  619 

Judge  Robert  Parks  Davidson  was  born  in  Nicholas  county,  Kentucky, 
October  26,  1826,  of  Scotch  ancestry  on  both  the  paternal  and  maternal 
sides,  his  family  being  one  of  the  highly  respected  of  the  pioneer  settlers. 
Thomas  Davidson,  the  pioneer  grandfather,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  set- 
tled in  Kentucky  in  an  early  day  and  died  there  many  years  ago.  He  was 
noted  for  his  personal  courage  and  high  sense  of  honor.  The  maternal 
grandfather,  James  Parks,  Sr.,  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania  about  1790 
and  located  in  Nicholas  county,  Kentucky,  where  he  died  May  6,  1836.  His 
family  was  of  English  origin,  and  numerous  members  of  the  same  became 
distinguished  in  various  walks  of  life.  James  Parks,  Sr.,  who  was  a  promi- 
nent merchant  and  trader  in  his  community,  represented  his  county  in  the 
Kentucky  legislature  and  he  also  served  very  creditably  in  the  state  senate, 
having  been  contemporary  with  the  Wicliffes  and  Marshalls.  A  loyal  Presby- 
terian, he  served  faithfully  for  a  period  of  forty  years  as  elder  in  the  Asso- 
ciate Reformed  Presbyterian  church. 

Judah  Davidson,  father  of  Judge  Davidson  of  this  memoir,  was  the 
fourth  son  of  Thomas  Davidson.  He  received  such  educational  training  as 
the  early  schools  afforded,  and  when  he  reached  maturity  he  married  Mary 
(Steele)  Davidson  on  December  11,  1825.  She  was  the  tenth  child  in  the 
family  of  James  Parks,  Sr.,  and  wife,  and  to  this  union  two  sons  were  born, 
of  whom  Robert  P.  was  the  oldest.  When  deceased  was  but  two  years  of 
age,  the  father  died,  leaving  the  two  fatherless  boys  and  the  widowed  mother 
to  battle  on  without  the  aid  and  counsel  of  a  father  and  husband.  The  mother 
was  a  woman  of  intelligence  and  genuine  piety.  The  mother  and  her  sons 
went  to  the  home  of  the  former's  parents,  and  the  sons  were  given  the  op- 
portunities offered  by  the  common  schools  of  those  days.  When  fourteen 
years  of  age  Robert  P.  Davidson  was  placed  in  an  academy,  and  at  intervals 
worked  at  farm  labor,  in  the  meantime  preparing  himself  for  college.  He 
accordingly  entered  the  freshman  class  of  Miami  University,  in  May,  1845, 
with  the  intention  of  preparing  himself  for  the  ministry,  but  changing  to 
Center  College,  Kentucky,  in  the  winter  of  1847-1848,  he  pursued  his  studies 
there  and  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  June,  1848,  ranking  among 
the  best  of  the  large  graduating  class  of  that  year,  and  in  recognition  of  his 
merits,  this  institution,  three  years  later,  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  After  graduating  he  turned  his  attention  to  teaching  for 
a  short  time,  then  began  the  study  of  law,  having  abandoned  the  idea  of 
becoming  a  minister.  He  was  licensed  to  practice  in  the  courts  in  February, 
1 85 1,  and  soon  afterwards  entered  the  law  office  of  the  late  Judge  Joseph  C. 
Suit,  at  Frankfort.  Clinton   county,  this   state,   later   forming  a  partnership 


620  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

with  this  noted  jurist.  He  was  also  at  one  time  associated  with  Hon.  Joseph 
Claybaugh.  his  brother-in-law.  an  ex-judge  of  the  Clinton  county  circuit 
court.  Mr.  Davidson  became  prosecuting  attorney  for  Clinton  county,  and 
he  served  as  judge  of  the  common  pleas  court  in  the  fifties.  In  the  midst 
of  all  his  various  legal  duties  he  found  time  to  do  considerable  editorial 
writing  on  the  Franklin  Argus,  later  known  as  the  Crescent,  which  name 
he  gave  the  paper.  He  continued  in  the  practice  at  Frankfort  until  Novem- 
ber, 1863,  when  he  moved  to  Lafayette,  during  the  most  exciting  period  of 
the  great  Civil  war.  The  rigid  study  of  the  law  and  his  close  application  to 
his  chosen  profession  made  him  profound  in  thought  and  broad-minded  in  the 
truest  sense  of  the  term.  As  a  public  speaker,  while  not  a  flowery  orator,  he 
was  a  strong,  logical  speaker,  his  language  being  of  that  clear,  concise  and 
forcible  type  that  always  had  its  weight  with  an  audience,  especially  with 
courts  and  jurymen,  who  recognized  the  fact  that  he  had  a  wonderful  legal 
mind.  In  his  personal  bearing  the  Judge  was  of  rather  retiring  disposition, 
always  a  gentleman,  possessed  of  true  politeness,  courteous  and  obliging,  very 
gentle  mannered,  true  hearted  and  sympathetic,  at  all  times  and  places.  He 
always  had  the  best  interests  of  his  client  at  heart,  and  was  firm  in  the  pre- 
sentation of  his  arguments  in  the  court  room.  He  remained  a  profound 
student  of  law  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  His  briefs  in  cases  taken  to  higher 
courts  were  considered  masterpieces. 

His  career  in  Lafayette  was  a  series  of  triumphs,  having  in  1864  entered 
the  law  office  of  \\'.  D.  Alace.  but  subsequently  formed  a  partnership  with 
Hon.  Richard  P.  DeHart.  At  one  time  he  was  a  law  partner  of  Capt.  W. 
De\\'itt  Wallace  and  still  later  he  was  associated  with  his  son,  Joseph  C. 
Davidson,  who  is  now  practicing  in  Chicago.  His  next  law  partner  was 
Daniel  E.  Storms,  ex-secretary  of  state,  who  now  resides  in  Nevada.  His 
last  partner  was  Allen  Boulds,  admitted  to  the  firm  in  1897.  Thus  it  will 
be  seen  that  he  was  associated  with  numerous  excellent  attorneys  during  his 
long  practice.  From  time  to  time  he  aided  many  young  men  to  solve  difficult 
legal  problems  and  he  has  started  them  out  on  their  careers  as  attorneys  with 
a  good  degree  of  assured  success.  His  knowledge  of  law  made  him  an  author- 
ity in  manv  intricate  legal  cases  in  Tippecanoe  and  other  counties.  The  fol- 
lowing, which  appeared  in  an  editorial  of  one  of  the  newspapers  of  his  home 
citv  the  morning  after  his  death,  is  an  accurate  summing  up  of  his  legal 
ability : 

"He  possessed  an  analytical  mind,  and  being  so  well  read  in  law,  he 
scored  every  point  the  case  would  admit  of.  In  court  he  was  a  fighter  for 
every  inch  of  ground  and  was  always  respected  by  his  opponents.     He  was 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  621 

connected  with  some  of  the  most  important  lawsuits  filed  in  this  and  adjoin- 
ing co.unties,  and  his  advice  was  sought  by  other  attorneys  who  well  knew 
the  value  of  the  legal  lore  he  possessed." 

Not  alone  in  law  did  Judge  Davidson  become  efficient,  but  as  a  political 
worker  in  the  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party  he  did  valuable  work.  During 
the  Lincoln  and  Douglas  presidential  campaign,  he  was  active  in  the  interest 
of  his  party,  and  had  the  honor  of  being  one  of  the  Douglas  electors,  and 
four  years  later  he  was  an  elector  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  his  second  term. 
He  was  what  is  styled  in  political  history  "a  war  Democrat"  and  bitterly 
opposed  the  institution  of  human  slavery.  During  our  great  civil  strife, 
Governor  Morton  appointed  him  draft  commissioner.  After  the  war  had 
ended  Judge  Davidson  did  not  participate  again  in  politics  until  he  was 
elected  a  representative  to  the  legislature,  serving  in  the  sessions  of  1871-1872. 
In  1902  he  was  defeated  for  the  state  senatorship  by  Hon.  William  R.  Wood. 
He  was  never  a  radical  partisan,  believing  that  all  parties  tried  to  make  plat- 
forms for  the  good  of  the  masses,  hence  he  was  charitable  and  never  offen- 
sive in  his  political  declarations. 

The  true  test  of  manhood  may  generally  be  found  about  the  home 
hearthstone,  and  in  this  phase  of  his  interesting  life  Judge  Davidson  was 
shown  in  his  best  light,  his  domestic  relations  being  of  the  most  harmonious 
and  happiest  type.  He  formed  a  matrimonial  alliance  on  May  15,  1849,  with 
Jennie  S.  Claybaugh,  daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  Joseph  Claybaugh,  D.  D., 
who  was  for  many  years  professor  of  theology  at  Oxford  Seminary  (Ohio). 
This  union  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  five  of 
whom  survive,  namely:  Joseph  C,  of  Chicago;  Mrs.  Mary  P.  Russell,  also 
of  Chicago;  Margaret  B.,  who  is  living  in  Lafayette;  Horace  C,  of  Aurora, 
Illinois;  and  Dr.  Edward  C,  of  Lafayette.  Robert  P.,  Jr.,  died  in  1889,  and 
James  T.  died  in  1904.  After  a  beautiful  Christian  life,  Mrs.  Davidson 
closed  her  eyes  on  earthly  scenes,  January  26,  1908,  a  few  months  in  ad- 
vance of  her  husband,  who  really  never  fully  recovered  from  the  sad  affliction 
•caused  from  being  separated  from  one  who  had  traveled  with  him  so  many 
years  as  a  loving,  faithful  companion. 

Concerning  his  religious  faith,  it  can  be  said  that  he  very  naturally 
found  his  church  home  within  the  fold  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  his 
forefathers  had  all  been  of  that  faith.  For  almost  a  half  century  he  was  an 
exemplary  member  and  was  long  an  elder  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church 
of  Lafayette.  He  was  a  home  man,  and  he  was  usually  found  at  his  fireside 
when  not  at  his  office,  for  he  affiliated  with  no  clubs  or  secret  societies.  This 
love  of  the  quietude  of  home  was  perhaps  responsible  for  his  limited  traveling. 


622  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

He  also  took  a  delight  in  looking  after  his  farming  interests,  which  were 
extensive.  He  was  always  entertaining,  a  man  of  mnch  universal  knowledge 
and  a  companionable  conversationalist. 

At  his  funeral,  the  members  of  the  bar,  who  held  him  in  the  very  highest 
esteem,  attended  in  a  body.  The  Rev.  A.  C.  V.  Skinner,  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church,  conducted  the  services,  paying  a  high  tribute  to  the 
departed  dead.  Friends  came  from  long  distances  to  pay  their  last  respects 
to  the  mortal  remains  of  him  who  in  his  lifetime  had  befriended  and  mingled 
with  them  as  companions  on  the  road  of  life.  Thus,  beneath  a  wealth  of 
beautiful  garlands,  surrounded  by  sorrowing  old-time  and  younger  friends, 
the  pallbearers  bore  the  tabernacle  that  had  held  this  worthy  man's  great  soul 
to  its  last  resting-  place  in  Spring\ille  cenietery.  where  it  sleeps  the  sleep  of  the 
just. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  bar  association,  held  April  24th,  eulogies  were  pro- 
nounced by  leading  members,  and  appropriate  resolutions  were  passed  and 
spread  upon  the  records  of  the  superior  and  circuit  courts. 


JA^IES  M.  STINGLE. 

Incumbent  of  the  office  of  county  assessor  and  holding  worthy  prestige 
as  a  citizen,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  has  been  much  in  the  public  gaze  and 
merits  more  than  passing  notice  among  the  representative  men  of  the  county 
which  has  been  his  home  since  his  birth.  James  I\I.  Stingle  was  born  near 
Purdue  University  in  Wabash  township  on  the  28th  day  of  August,  1862, 
being  a  son  of  Levi  and  Emily  ( Kellogg)  Stingle,  natives  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio,  respectively.  Levi  Stingle  came  to  Tippecanoe  county  a  number 
of  years  ago  and  in  due  time  became  widely  known  as  a  successful  farmer 
and  stockraiser;  by  industry  and  frugality,  directed  and  controlled  by  sound 
judgment  and  business  ability  of  a  high  order,  he  accumulated  a  handsome 
fortune  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  left  a  large  estate,  including  the  family 
homestead  in  Wabash  township  and  other  valuable  realty,  besides  personal 
property  of  considerable  amount.  He  was  greatly  esteemed  throughout  the 
county,  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  fellowmen  to  a  marked  degree  and  in  his 
efiforts  to  promote  his  own  interests  was  not  unmindful  of  the  interests  and 
welfare  of  others.  He  lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-two  and  was  called  from 
the  scenes  of  his  earthly  labors  and  triumphs  in  1899.  his  death  being  deeply 
mourned  and  profoundly  regretted  by  the  people  among  whom  he  had  spent 


TIPPF.CANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  623 

SO  many  years.  Mrs.  Stingle,  who  proved  a  worthy  wife  and  helpmeet  and 
to  whose  judicious  counsel  her  husband  was  indebted  for  no  small  part  of 
his  success,  departed  this  life  in  1889,  when  sixty-two  years  of  age.  Levi 
and  Emily  Stingle  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  three  of  whom  died 
in  infancy  or  early  childhood,  the  names  of  the  surviving  members  of  the 
family  being  as  follows:  James  M.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Harry  E.,  who 
lives  in  California ;  Eva  A.,  wife  of  James  A.  Bell,  of  West  Lafayette,  and 
Lillie  E.,  who  married  Pogue  Myers  and  lives  in  the  city  of  Lafayette.  Both 
parents  had  been  previously  married  and  each  had  one  child  when  they  be- 
came husband  and  wife. 

James  M.  Stingle  was  reared  amid  the  bracing  airs  and  wholesome  in- 
fluence of  rural  life,  and  his  early  experience  on  the  farm  had  much  to  do  in 
developing  a  strong,  well-rounded  character  and  directing  his  future  course 
of  action.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  the  Lafayette  Com- 
mercial College  and,  on  leaving  home  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world, 
engaged  in  the  livery  business  at  Lafayette,  which  he  conducted  with  fair 
success  for  a  period  of  ten  years.  Disposing  of  his  establishment  at  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time  Mr.  Stingle,  in  1904,  was  appointed  deputy  county 
assessor,  the  duties  of  which  position  he  discharged  in  a  very  acceptable 
manner,  for  one  term,  during  which  time  he  became  so  widely  acquainted 
throughout  the  county  and  made  so  many  warm  friends  that  when  he  an- 
nounced his  candidacy  for  the  office  held  by  his  superior,  his  nomination  was 
a  foregone  conclusion.  In  the  election  which  followed  he  defeated  his  com- 
petitor by  a  majority  of  five  hundred  and  ninety-five  votes. 

Mr.  Stingle  has  proven  a  very  efficient  and  obliging  public  servant.  He 
conducts  his  office  in  an  able  and  straightforward  business-like  manner,  exer- 
cises sound  discretion  in  the  matter  of  values  and  is  absolutely  fair  and  im- 
partial in  his  treatment  of  property  holders,  so  that  the  public,  irrespective 
of  political  allignment.  have  the  utmost  confidence  in  his  judgment  and  in- 
tegrity. As  indicated  above,  he  is  a  Republican  and  an  active  worker  for  the 
success  of  his  party,  especially  in  local  afifairs,  concerning  which  his  opinions 
and  advice  always  carry  weight  and  command  respect.  Mr.  Stingle  is  con- 
nected with  several  secret  fraternal  orders,  including  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  in  the  former  of  which  he  holds  the  title  of 
past  chancellor.  The  local  lodges  to  which  he  belongs  are  indebted  to  him 
for  much  of  the  success  they  now  enjoy. 

Mr.  Stingle's  domestic  life  dates  from  March  9,  1885,  at  which  time 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Drusilla  Belle  Huffman,  of  Lafayette,  and  a 
daughter  of  Noah  and  Elizabeth  (Nagle)  Huffman,  the  father  a  son  of  Rev. 


624 


PAST    AXD    PRESEXT 


Jonathan  Huffman,  a  pioneer  of  Tippecanoe  county  and  one  of  the  first 
Methodist  ministers  in  this  part  of  the  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stingle  have 
three  children,  namely :  Robert,  a  student  of  Purdue  University,  Ethel  and 
Bernice,  the  former  pursuing  her  studies  in  the  high  school  of  West  Lafay- 
ette, the  latter  a  student  of  the  lower  grades.  In  religious  belief  Mr.  Stingle 
subscribes  to  the  Baptist  creed,  his  wife  being  a  ^Methodist  and  a  zealous 
and  useful  member  of  the  local  church  to  which  she  belongs. 


SAMUEL  S.  WASHBURX.  M.  D. 

Dr.  Samuel  S.  Washburn,  who  is  now  the  longest  in  practice  of  any 
physician,  save  possibly  one,  in  Tippecanoe  county,  and  still  enjoying  the 
confidence  of  the  populace  in  his  present-day  practice  in  the  city  of  Lafayette, 
was  born  September  i,  1839,  at  Rushville,  Lidiana.  He  is  the  son  of  Isaac 
and  IMariah  (Bratton)  Washburn.  The  father  was  born  in  Ohio  and  was 
by  trade  a  tanner  and  followed  it  until  the  ^lexican  war  came  on.  He  then 
enlisted  in  the  army  raised  to  put  down  that  conflict  and  was  promoted  to 
sergeant-major  of  the  Second  Kentucky  Regiment  of  Infantry.  He  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista  and  died  a  pensioner,  by  reason  of  his 
Mexican  war  service.  After  that  war  he  located  at  Owensboro,  Kentucky, 
where  he  became  the  editor  of  a  newspaper,  continuing  in  that  profession  until 
his  death  in  December.  1876.  He  was  the  father  of  six  children,  as  follows: 
Nancy,  Elihue,  Robert  R..  Sarah,  Zarelda,  and  Samuel  S.  of  this  notice. 
The  mother  of  this  family  died  in  1885:  she  was  a  devoted  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  having  united  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years.  The  sub- 
ject's father,  Isaac  \\'ashburn,  was  of  the  Universalist  faith.  Politically, 
he  was  a  Democrat. 

Doctor  Washburn  had  the  ad\antage  of  the  public  schools  in  Rush  coun- 
ty, Indiana,  and  later  studied  under  a  private  tutor.  He  chose  the  science  of 
medicine  as  his  profession,  and  studied  under  Dr.  D.  W.  Stirman,  of  Owens- 
boro, Kentucky,  and  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Louisville,  Kentucky,  from  which  most  excellent  institution  he  was  graduated 
in  the  month  of  ^March,  1861.  He  then  saw  the  country  was  in  need  of  men 
to  suppress  the  Rebellion  which  had  opened  in  April  of  that  year,  and  enlisted 
as  a  member  of  the  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Indiana  \^olunteer  Infantry,  serving 
until  the  autumn  of  1863,  when  he  was  discharged  by  reason  of  disability,  hav- 
ing contracted  typhoid  pneumonia.     During  his  entire  army  career  he  was  on 


JjfyhdAvU^^^^  v^^, 


TIPPECANOE   COUNTY,    IND.  625 

the  medical  staff  and  was  assistant  surgeon  and  hospital  steward.  After  he 
returned  from  the  army,  he  located  at  Decatur,  Illinois,  where  he  practiced 
medicine  four  years,  then  located  at  Dayton,  Indiana,  where  he  continued 
seven  years  and  built  up  an  extensive  medical  practice  in  that  section  of  the 
country.  In  1874  he  came  to  the  city  of  Lafayette,  where  he  has  ever  since 
practiced  and  is  now  the  longest  in  practice  of  any  physician  in  the  place. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Tippecanoe  County  Medical  Society,  as  well  as  a 
member  of  the  State  and  American  Medical  Associations.  He  reads  the  latest 
medical  works  and  is  a  subscriber  to  and  benefits  by  the  reading  of  the  various 
medical  publications.  By  keeping  fully  abreast  with  the  modern  methods 
in  his  profession,  he  is  accounted  an  up-to-date  physician  and  surgeon.  He 
has  a  large  and  successful  practice,  being  the  "family  doctor"  for  many  of 
the  leading  families  of  the  city  and  its  environments. 

Politically,  the  Doctor  is  a  believer  in  the  general  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party.  In  1889  he  was  a  candidate  for  state  representative,  and 
at  a  time  when  the  county  went  a  thousand  majority  Republican  he  was  only 
defeated  by  about  four  hundred  votes. 

In  civic  society  relations,  the  Doctor  is  connected  with  Masonry,  being 
a  past  master  of  the  Masonic  lodge,  having  held  that  office  four  years,  and 
is  always  interested  in  all  that  pertains  to  this  ancient  and  honorable  frater- 
nity.    He  is  knowm  as  a  bright  Mason. 

Coming  to  his  domestic  life,  it  may  be  said  in  this  connection  that  he 
was  united  in  marriage  November  22,  1864,  to  Lucy  B.  English,  daughter 
of  James  English  and  wife,  of  Mt.  Auburn,  Illinois.  The  issue  by  this  union 
was  five  children,  as  follows :  Alva  C,  Savilla,  Van  Clifford,  James  H.  and 
Olivia  Belle,  all  deceased,  except  the  sons,  A.  C.  and  J.  H.  James  H.  is  an 
actuary  for  the  Hartford  Life  Insurance  Company,  and  resides  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut :  A.  C,  the  Doctors  other  son,  is  actuary  for  the  Mexico- Amer- 
icana Life  Insurance  Company  and  resides  in  Mexico. 

To  have  practiced  in  the  homes  of  Tippecanoe  county  so  long  as  Dr. 
Washburn  has,  and  met  with  success;  to  have  seen  service  in  his  country's 
war  days ;  to  have  been  connected  with  county  and  municipal  government  and 
advocated  his  political  principles,  against  fearful  odds,  and  reared  a  family,, 
members  of  which  are  today  holding  places  of  trust  and  responsibility  in 
this  and  a  foreign  countr}-,  is  an  indication  that  his  career  has  been  fraught 
with  more  than  ordinary  success.  In  the  city  of  Lafayette  he  has  been  coun- 
cilman from  the  sixth  ward  for  eighteen  years  and  was  president  of  the- 
board  of  city  commissioners  four  years. 
(40) 


626  PAST    AND    PRESENT 


JUDGE  CYRUS  BALL. 

An  enumeration  of  the  representative  citizens  of  Tippecanoe  county  of 
a  former  generation  who  won  success  and  recognition  for  themselves  and 
at  the  same  time  conferred  honor  upon  the  community,  would  be  decidedly 
incomplete  were  there  failure  to  make  mention  of  Judge  Cyrus  Ball,  who 
long  held  worthy  prestige  in  legal  and  political  circles.  He  was  always  dis- 
tinctively a  man  of  affairs,  who  wielded  a  wide  influence  among  those  with 
whom  his  lot  was  cast,  ever  having  the  affairs  of  his  county  at  heart  and 
did  what  he  could  to  aid  in  its  development,  then  passed  serenely  on  to  his 
eternal  rest,  leaving  behind  him  a  priceless  heritage  to  his  family  and  friends — 
the  record  of  a  life  well  spent  and  a  good  name. 

Judge  Cyrus  Ball,  long  a  prominent  citizen  of  Indiana,  was  born  in 
Lebanon,  Warren  county,  Ohio,  May  30,  1804,  the  youngest  of  a  family  of 
six  children,  four  brothers  and  two  sisters.  His  early  education  was  meager, 
having  attended  schools  of  a  primitive  kind  for  three  months  during  the 
winter,  his  work  on  the  farm  depriving  him  of  further  time  to  devote  to  his 
text-books.  However,  he  spent  a  great  deal  of  time  reading  history  and 
miscellaneous  subjects,  and  while  quite  a  young  man  was  enabled  to  begin 
teaching  in  one  of  the  country  schools.  In  1825  he  left  the  farm  and  read 
law  awhile,  having  at  an  early  age  decided  to  enter  the  legal  profession,  and 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Ohio  in  1826.  He  came  west  with  his  cousin, 
Justice  Harlan,  in  that  year.  In  the  spring  of  1827  he  went  to  Baltimore, 
Marj-land,  and  bought  a  stock  of  merchandise  and  brought  the  same  to 
Lafayette,  Indiana,  and  he  and  his  brother  started  a  general  store  here. 
After  two  and  one-half  years,  Cyrus  assumed  entire  control  of  the  business, 
which  had  steadily  grown  from  the  first.  In  1828  Cyrus  Ball  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  Indiana  and  the  following  year  he  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace,  serving  five  years.  In  1835  he  was  defeated  for  the  ofifice  by  Mathias 
Peterson,  a  Democrat.  He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  James  Hill  and 
Peter  S.  Jennings,  embarking  in  the  dry  goods  business.  Mr.  Hill  died  in 
1837  and  the  firm  became  Ball  &  Jennings.  The  former  sold  out  to  the  latter, 
and,  in  connection  with  his  brother,  purchased  the  property  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Third  and  Main  streets,  paying  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  for  the  lot. 

In  1832  Mr.  Ball  was  married  to  Cornelia  Smith,  who  died  within  three 
years  after  their  marriage.  On  May  8,  1838,  he  was  married  to  Rebecca 
Gordon,  of  Philadelphia;  she  was  born  in  that  city.  May  16,  1816,  and  she 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  627 

came  to  Lafayette  in  1837.  To  this  union  five  children  were  born,  namely: 
Gordon,  Seneca,  Eugene,  Cornelia  and  Richard.  Mrs.  Ball  was  of  a  decided- 
ly poetic  nature,  and  she  was  always  bright,  cheerful  and  happy.  She  was 
a  woman  of  rare  intellect,  of  fine  judgment,  having  wonderful  powers  of  tact 
and  discrimination.  She  penned  many  dainty  gems  of  verse,  some  of  them 
manifestly  from  the  depth  of  the  heart,  and  displayed  a  wealth  of  poetic 
genius. 

When  the  Black  Hawk  war  began  Judge  Ball  and  William  Reynolds 
went  to  the  front,  passing  through  Chicago,  at  that  time  an  insignificant 
little  trading  post.  Upon  their  arrival  there  they  were  unable  to  buy  enough 
feed  for  their  horses,  there  being  practically  no  business  of  this  nature  there. 

The  Wabash  &  Erie  canal  made  Judge  Ball  collector  of  tolls  in  1840, 
and  in  1841  he  was  appointed  cashier  in  the  branch  at  Lafayette  of  the  State 
Bank  of  Indiana,  retaining  that  position  until  the  charter  expired  and  the 
bank  went  into  liquidation.  Business  was  carried  on  at  the  southwest  corner 
of  Sixth  and  Main  streets  until  the  charter  expired  in  1859,  at  which  time 
Judge  Ball  purchased  the  lots  and  improvements,  which  are  now  the  property 
of  his  son,  Gordon  Ball. 

Cyrus  Ball  was  elected  one  of  the  three  associate  judges  in  1840  for  this 
district,  and  he  was  soon  regarded  as  a  splendid  jurist,  fair  and  possessing 
the  highest  integrity.  He  had  a  mind  capable  of  the  most  careful  judicial 
analysis  and  he  carefully  weighed  in  the  balance  all  problems  submitted  to 
him  and  soon  displayed  a  profound  knowledge  of  jurisprudence,  his  decisions 
seldom  meeting  with  reversal  at  the  hands  of  a  higher  tribunal. 

When  the  Lafayette  Artificial  Gas  Company  was  started.  Judge  Ball 
became  president  and  held  considerable  stock  in  the  same,  and  its  large  suc- 
cess was  very  largely  due  to  his  able  management.  With  Albert  S.  White, 
the  Judge  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  the  construction  of  the  railroad  to 
Indianapolis,  many  years  ago,  which  is  now  a  part  of  the  Big  Four  system. 
When  he  retired  from  the  banking  business.  Judge  Ball  built  an  elegant 
residence  on  South  Ninth  street  where  he  lived  until  his  death.  June  30, 
1893,  having  reached  a  ripe  old  age,  full  of  honors  and  success.  Although 
it  was  dangerous  to  do  so,  he  entertained  the  noted  William  Lloyd  Garrison 
and  other  well  known  abolitionists  at  his  home.  Mrs.  Cyrus  Ball  joined  her 
distinguished  husband  in  the  silent  land  on  January  16,  1900.  Her  son, 
Seneca  Ball,  who  became  prominent  in  business  and  railroad  circles,  died  De- 
cember 19,  1907.  Eugene  Ball  died  in  Vienna,  while  United  States  consul  to 
Budapest.  Cornelia  Ball  died  just  as  she  had  blossomed  into  womanhood. 
Thus  Gordon  Ball,  of  Lafayette,  is  now  the  only  living  member  of  the  family. 


628  PAST   AND   PRESENT 

Judge  Ball  was  a  man  of  unusual  business  ability,  having  been  an  or- 
ganizer and  a  promoter,  possessing  the  rare  ability  to  foresee  the  outcome 
of  business  transactions  and  he  was  regarded  as  a  leader  in  business  circles 
for  a  half  century.  He  died  without  a  blemish  on  his  character,  there  having 
been  manifest  in  his  character  the  highest  sense  of  honor  and  the  strictest 
integrity.  In  disposition  he  was  kind,  tender,  yet  firm,  straightforward  and 
no  man  was  more  determined  in  the  execution  of  his  plans  when  once 
he  decided  that  he  was  right.  Broad  and  liberal  in  his  views,  enterprising 
and  resourceful,  he  was  a  power  in  every  enterprise  he  undertook.  He  took 
the  delight  of  a  boy  in  innocent  sports,  and  nothing  delighted  him  more  than 
to  romp  with  his  children.  His  old  age  was  cheered  by  frequent  fishing  trips 
to  the  Kankakee,  Wild  Cat  and  the  Wabash.  His  useful  life  ended  as  he 
had  lived  it — without  a  shade  to  darken  its  passage  into  the  great  beyond.  Tip- 
pecanoe county  will  never  know  a  more  useful,  grander  character  than  he. 


MAJOR  WARREN  R.  KING,  M.  D. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  chief  surgeon  of  the  Soldiers'  Home 
and  for  many  years  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  med- 
ical profession,  is  a  native  of  Hamilton  county,  Indiana,  born  February  6, 
1842.  His  parents,  Benson  and  Esther  (Robinson)  King,  natives  of  New 
York,  came  west  in  an  early  day  and  settled  about  fourteen  miles  north  of 
Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  the  father  purchased  land  and  in  due  time  be- 
came a  prosperous  agriculturist.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  on  the 
beautiful  farm,  which  he  improved,  accumulated  a  comfortable  competency 
and  died  in  August,  1845,  l^is  faithful  companion  departing  this  life  within 
six  minutes  after  he  ceased  to  breathe,  both  being  interred  in  the  same  grave 
at  Eagle  Village.  Four  children  constituted  the  family  of  this  worthy  couple, 
the  oldest.  Minor  M.,  dying  in  Iowa  in  1881 ;  Dr.  Warren  R.  was  the  second 
son  in  order  of  birth;  Mesdames  Harriett  Ellis  and  Martilla  Sparks,  the 
third  and  fourth,  respectively,  reside  in  Connersville,  this  state.  Being  a 
mere  child  when  his  parents  died,  young  King  was  taken  into  the  family  of 
Daniel  Shortridge  and  wife,  his  uncle  and  aunt,  to  whom  he  attributes  all  the 
success  in  life  which  he  has  attained.  ^Ir.  Shortridge  was  quite  wealthy  and, 
becoming  interested  in  the  lad,  decided  to  look  after  his  training  and  educa- 
tion and  fit  him  for  some  useful  calling.  At  the  proper  age,  therefore,  he 
attended  the  Fairview  Academy,  and,  having  chosen  medicine  as  the  profes- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  629 

sion  most  suited  to  his  tastes  and  inclinations,  he  subsequently  began  the 
study  of  the  same  in  the  Iowa  Medical  College  at  Keokuk,  where  he  com- 
pleted their  prescribed  course. 

Dr.  Kino'  prosecuted  his  professional  studies  under  many  disadvantages 
and  discouragements,  superinduced  by  a  somewhat  disastrous  military  expe- 
rience, in  which  he  received  a  severe  wound,  which  rendered  him  a  cripple 
for  hfe.  Entering  the  army  in  opposition  to  his  uncle's  wishes  caused  an 
estrangement  between  the  two,  and  when  his  relative  ceased  supplying  the 
necessary  funds  for  his  support,  the  young  man  was  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources,  which,  by  reason  of  his  injury,  were  somewhat  limited.  Determin- 
ing to  finish  his  studies,  however,  he  let  nothing  deter  him  from  this  accom- 
plishment, but  his  poverty  was  such  as  to  cause  him  great  inconvenience  and  no 
little  suffering  while  prosecuting  his  collegiate  course,  being  at  one  time 
compelled  to  rent  a  miserably  poor  little  room  for  one  dollar  per  month  and 
sleeping  on  the  floor  with  a  soldier's  blanket  as  his  only  bed  and  covering. 
Despite  unfavorable  environments  and  a  scanty  diet,  he  applied  himself  zeal- 
ously to  his  studies  and  researches.  During  his  last  course  of  lectures  he 
served  as  a  medical  cadet  in  the  hospital  at  Keokuk. 

On  leaving  college.  Dr.  King  received  a  position  as  paymaster's  clerk 
in  the  United  States  navy,  which  he  held  for  a  period  of  eight  months,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  time  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Miami 
county,  Indiana,  locating  at  Miami  in  the  spring  of  1865  and  remaining  in 
that  place  until  his  removal,  in  1876,  to  Greenfield,  Indiana,  where,  during 
the  ensuing  twenty  years,  he  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  business  and 
where  he  still  maintains  his  residence. 

Dr.  King  served  ten  years  on  the  board  of  pension  examiners  of  Hancock 
county  and  for  five  years  was  medical  director  of  the  department  of  Indiana, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  besides  holding  for  one  year  the  position  of 
surgeon-general,  national  encampment.  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  to  which 
he  was  elected  at  Boston  in  1904.  The  Doctor  was  a  leading  spirit  in  arous- 
ing an  interest  in  the  matter  of  erectmg  a  monument  in  honor  of  ex-Governor 
Oliver  P.  Morton,  and  to  him,  more  perhaps  than  to  any  other  man,  is  due 
the  inauguration  and  carrying  to  successful  conclusion  of  the  movement  which 
culminated  in  the  beautiful  and  appropriate  memorial  which  now  adorns  the 
state  capitol.  He  was  present  at  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  and,  as 
chairman  of  the  commission,  took  an  active  part  in  the  ceremonies.  It  was 
on  the  same  day,  also,  that  he  was  tendered  the  position  of  chief  surgeon  of 
the  Soldiers'  Home,  at  Lafayette,  which  he  now  holds  and  the  duties  of 
which  he  assumed  in  April,  1908. 


630  PAST   AND   PRESENT 

In  the  important  and  responsible  office  with  which  he  has  been  honored, 
Dr.  King  measures  up  to  the  requirements  of  the  management  of  the  insti- 
tution and  thus  far  his  course  has  been  eminently  creditable  and  satisfactory, 
fully  meeting  the  high  expectations  of  his  friends  and  the  public,  ever  justi- 
fying the  wisdom  of  his  choice.  In  his  professional  work  he  has  two  capable 
assistants  and  the  hospital  corps  at  this  time  consists  of  eighteen  nurses,  se- 
lected with  especial  reference  to  their  efficiency  and  skill.  There  are  now  in 
the  various  wards  seventy-seven  female  and  fifty-one  male  patients  under 
tieatment,  to  whom  the  chief  surgeon  gives  personal  ser\-ice.  in  addition  to 
which  duty  he  also  looks  carefully  after  the  condition  of  the  institution  and 
its  inmates,  insisting  upon  due  attention  to  the  sanitary  regulations  which 
he  has  inaugurated,  the  beneficial  results  of  which  are  already  perceptible  in 
the  increasing  good  health  throughout  the  establishment. 

Dr.  King's  best  energies  have  ever  been  devoted  to  his  profession  and 
his  pronounced  ability  has  gained  him  a  position  in  the  front  rank  among  the 
leading  medical  practitioners  of  Indiana.  As  stated  in  preceding  paragraphs, 
many  honors  in  connection  with  his  profession  have  been  bestowed  upon  him 
and  in  every  position  to  which  called  he  has  added  luster  to  a  name  which 
for  many  years  has  been  widely  known  in  medical  circles  throughout  his  own 
and  other  states. 

Dr.  King  has  twice  been  married,  the  tirst  time  in  1865,  to  Martha 
Haynes,  of  Miami  county,  who  died  in  1881,  after  bearing  him  one  son, 
Frank  R.  King,  who  is  connected  with  the  Piqua  National  Bank,  of  Piqua, 
Ohio.  The  Doctor's  second  wife  was  Belle  Reed,  whom  he  married  in 
Greenfield,  in  1882,  his  present  companion,  the  union  being  -without  issue. 

Fraternally,  Dr.  King  is  a  Mason  of  high  standing,  having  attained  the 
council  degree,  besides  holding,  from  time  to  time,  important  official  positions 
in  the  different  branches  of  the  order.  In  politics,  he  is  a  Republican,  with 
Prohibition  tendencies,  being  an  earnest  advocate  of  temperance  and  an  in- 
fluential worker  in  propagating  the  principles  of  the  same.  With  his  wife, 
he  belongs  to  the  Christian  church,  holding  membership  with  the  congrega- 
tion at  Greenfield. 

Dr.  King  is  the  only  male  survivor  of  his  family.  His  grandfather, 
Joshua  King,  of  New  York,  moved  down  the  Ohio  river,  by  flat  boat,  at  an 
early  day,  landing  at  the  farm  of  General  Harrison  about  the  year  1820. 
Two  years  later  he  transferred  his  residence  to  Fayette  county,  Indiana.  The 
Doctor's  father  purchased  the  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Hamilton  county  of 
Captain  Sleeker,  of  Fayette  county,  who  originally  entered  the  same.     O1 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  63 1 

the  paternal  side,  the  Doctor's  ancestors  are  traced  to  France,  his  grand- 
mother having  belonged  to  the  La  Force  family,  which  had  representatives  in 
the  United  States  from  a  very  early  time. 


THOMAS  BAUER. 

Thomas  Bauer,  president  of  the  Lafayette  Box  Board  and  Paper  Com- 
pany, is  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  born  at  Nazareth,  Northampton  county, 
July  I,  i860,  the  son  of  Jacob  and  Marie  (Marsh)  Bauer.  He  of  whom 
this  notice  is  written  was  reared  in  his  native  county  and  remained  there  until 
eighteen  years  of  age,  when  the  family  moved  to  Akron,  Ohio,  where  young 
Bauer  became  employed  as  a  salesman  in  a  retail  clothing  store.  He  re- 
mained in  Akron  for  eight  years,  during  which  time  he  married. 

In  1886,  on  account  of  ill  health.  Mr.  Bauer  was  obliged  to  seek  a  differ- 
ent kind  of  work.  During  that  j^ear,  and  when  the  natural  gas  industry  was 
first  being  developed  at  Kokomo,  Indiana,  he  was  employed  by  the  Kokomo 
Straw  Board  Company.  He  connected  himself  with  this  factory  with  the 
notion  of  being  only  temporarily  in  such  line  of  business,  but  he  took  hold 
with  a  right  good  will  and  determination  to  perform  every  known  duty  in 
the  best  possible  manner.  He  worked  in  various  departments  and  was  rapidly 
advanced.  In  1892  he  removed  to  Yorktown,  near  Muncie,  Indiana,  where 
a  new  strawboard  factory  was  built  and  of  which  plant  he  became  manager. 
Tliere  he  remained  until  1902,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  came  to  Lafayette,  where  he  organized  the  Lafayette  Box  Board 
and  Paper  Company  and  has  ever  since  been  identified  with  the  city  of  Lafay- 
ette and  her  general  business  interests. 

?:Ir.  B?uer,  who  is  nt  the  held  of  this,  the  laro'est  plant  nf  its  line  of 
products  in  the  world,  believes  that  diligence  is  the  only  key  to  signal  success. 
He  is  competent  to  take  charge  and  manage  any  of  the  many  departments  of 
the  large  business  with  which  he  has  achieved  so  large  an  amount  of  success, 
and  has  become  so  widely  known.  Being  thus  fully  acquainted  with  all  the 
many  details  of  producing  the  products  of  his  extensive  factory,  he  is  com- 
petent to  handle  the  large  number  of  men  he  has  in  his  emplnv,  thev  realizing 
rh;it  he  is  competent  to  judge  and  give  advice  at  CTch  nnd  everv  point  from 
where  the  raw  materials  are  brought  to  the  factory,  on  through  the  various 
processes  to  the  point  where  the  goods  are  shipped  to  the  open  markets  of 
the  world. 


632  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

While  Mr.  Bauer  is  a  man  of  affairs  and  engrossed  in  the  hne  of  work 
which  he  so  successfully  operates  in,  yet  he  is  a  man  among  men,  is  public- 
spirited  and  in  no  manner  neglects  the  social  functions  of  modern  life  and 
activities.  He  is  connected  with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  having  advanced  to 
the  thirty-second  degree  in  that  most  ancient  and  honorable  order.  He  is 
also  affiliated  with  that  younger  but  none  the  less  valuable  and  popular  fia- 
ternity,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  which  he  is  a  member  of  the  grand  lodge  of 
Indiana. 

In  his  political  views  Mr.  Bauer  is  a  Republican,  believing  that  that 
political  party  best  subserves  the  interests  of  the  masses  of  American  citizens. 

Mr.  Bauer  was  united  in  marriage  August  6,  1885,  to  Addie  Cordelia 
Hunsicker,  a  native  of  Akron,  Ohio.  While  Mr.  Bauer  is  one  of  the  busiest 
business  factors  in  the  Star  City,  he  has  the  happy  faculty  of  dispatching  his 
affairs  in  such  a  methodical  manner  as  to  have  time  to  give  to  matters  out- 
side and  is  ever  ready  to  impart  information  concerning  a  plant  which  has 
come  to  be  second  to  none  in  this  country,  as  well  as  one  of  Lafayette's  chief 
manufacturing  industries.  Of  the  detailed  history  and  workings  of  this  fac- 
tory the  reader  of  this  work  is  referred  to  the  industrial  chapters. 


HON.   EDWIX   P.   HAMMOND. 

Judge  E.  P.  Hammond,  attorney-at-law,  Lafayette,  well  known  through- 
out the  state  as  a  lawyer,  judge  of  the  supreme  court  and  veteran  of  the 
Civil  war  (in  which  cause  he  took  the  Union  side  and  for  gallant  deeds 
was  more  than  once  promoted,  finally  to  brevet  colonel),  will  form  the  sub- 
ject of  this  memoir,  that  the  deeds  of  his  eventful  life  may  be  made  safe 
in  the  annals  of  his  county,  to  be  read  and  duly  appreciated  by  those  who 
shall  come  after  him,  searching  for  the  brave,  the  patriotic  and  the  brainy 
characters  who  have  lived  and  labored  in  Tippecanoe  county,  in  both  the 
past  and  present  century  of  its  history. 

Judge  Hammond  was  born  in  Brookville,  Indiana,  November  26,  1835, 
a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Hannah  (Sering)  Hammond.  On  the  Hammond  side 
of  his  genealogical  tree  he  is  descended  from  New  England  ancestry.  His 
father  remo\-efl  from  \^ermont  to  Indiana,  and  was  married  in  Brookville. 
\\'hen  fourteen  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Columbus.  Indiana, 
where  he  obtained  such  etlucation  as  the  common  schools  and  the  seminary 
at  Columbus  afforded.     In  1854  he  went  to  Indianapolis  to  accept  a  position 


EDWIN    P.   HAMMOND 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  633 

as  a  clerk  in  a  wholesale  store.  During  his  first  year  thus  employed 
he  caught  a  glimpse  of  professional  life  and  abandoned  his  mercantile  clerk- 
ship for  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Hons.  Abram  A.  Hammond  and 
Thomas  A.  Nelson,  of  Terre  Haute.  The  former,  his  half-brother,  was 
elected  lieutenant-governor  of  Indiana  in  1856,  and  became  governor  of  the 
state  on  the  death  of  Governor  Willard  in  1859.  In  1856,  after  passing 
an  examination,  he  entered  the  senior  law  class  of  Asbury  (now  DePauw) 
University,  at  Greencastle,  and  in  1857  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Laws.  He  opened  an  office  at  Rensselaer,  a  town  buried  in  the  almost  wilder- 
ness prairie  land.  While  it  was  a  great  contrast  from  the  cities  he  had 
resided  in — Indianapolis  and  Terre  Haute — and  was  a  lonely  spot,  yet  with 
true  courage  he  set  forth  to  do  and  to  dare  and  became  identified  with  the 
pioneer  dwellers  of  that  town.  There  he  continued  to  live  and  labor  for 
more  than  thirty  years  and  in  that  time  built  up  a  good  legal  practice. 

The  sound  of  Fort  Sumter's  opening  cannon  of  the  great  Civil  war 
was  echoing  through  the  land  and  Lincoln's  first  call  for  men  to  suppress  the 
on-coming  rebellion  of  the  Southern  states  caught  his  ear.  He  enlisted  in  the 
three-months  service,  and  was  elected  and  commissioned  first  lieutenant 
of  Company  G,  Ninth  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  serving  under 
Captain  (afterwards  Colonel  and  General)  Robert  H.  Milroy,  in  West  Vir- 
ginia. At  the  termination  of  his  enlistment  Mr.  Hammond  resumed  his 
law  practice.  He  was  elected  to  the  Indiana  legislature  in  October,  1861, 
representing  Newton,  Jasper  and  Pulaski  counties.  In  August,  1862,  he  as- 
sisted in  raising  Company  A,  of  the  Eighty-seventh  Indiana  Regiment,  and 
was  elected  and  commissioned  its  captain.  March  22,  1863,  he  rose  to  the 
rank  of  major,  and  November  21st  of  that  year,  to  that  of  lieutenant-colonel. 
He  remained  at  the  front,  except  a  short  time  in  1863-64,  when  at  home  re- 
cruiting volunteers.  September  19  and  20.  1863,  he  participated  in  the  fa- 
mous battle  of  Chickamauga.  His  regiment  went  into  the  engagement  with 
three  hundred  and  sixty-three  men,  and  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-nine  men — more  than  half  its  number.  During  the  last  year 
of  the  war  he  commanded  his  regiment,  embracing  one  hundred  days  of  in- 
cessant fighting  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta.  He  accompanied  General 
Sherman  on  his  great  "march  to  the  sea"  and  back  through  the  Carolinas 
to  Washington.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  on  the  recommendation  of  his 
brigade,  division  and  corps  commanders,  he  was  breveted  colonel  in  the 
United  States  \'olunteers,  "for  gallant  and  meritorious  service  during  the 
war." 

When  peace  was  finally  declared.  Colonel  Hammond  returned  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  but  in  March,   1873,  Gov.  Thomas  A.  Hendricks 


634  P-'^ST    AND    PRESENT 

appointed  him  to  the  position  of  judge  of  the  thirtieth  judicial  district,  and 
at  tlie  fall  election  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  to  that  otifice.  Again  in 
1878,  he  was  elected  without  opposition  for  a  term  of  six  years.  May  14, 
1883,  Judge  Hammond  was  appointed  by  Gov.  A.  G.  Porter  as  judge  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  state  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  appointment  of  Hon. 
William  A.  Woods  to  the  United  States  district  court  for  Indiana.  In  the 
autumn  of  1884  he  was  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  party  for  judge  of 
the  supreme  court  from  the  fifth  district,  and  with  his  party  was  defeated  at 
the  polls.  Though  not  successful  of  election,  the  fact  that  he  received  five 
thousand  more  votes  than  did  the  head  of  the  ticket  was  an  evidence  of  his 
popularity.  January  i,  1885,  he  retired  from  the  supreme  court  bench,,  after 
gaining  an  enviable  reputation  for  his  judicial  impartiality,  firmness  and  judg- 
ment concerning  the  law.  For  the  next  five  years  he  practiced  law  at  Rensse- 
laer, after  which  he  was  again  elected  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  serving 
until  August,  1892,  when  he  resigned  and  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles 
B.  and  William  V.  Stuart,  under  the  firm  name  of  Stuart  Brothers  &  Ham- 
mond (now  Stuart,  Hammond  &  Simms),  with  offices  at  Lafayette,  to  which 
city  the  Judge  removed  in  1894.  As  a  lawyer  he  has  long  sustained  the  well 
earned  reputation  of  being  among  the  foremost  legal  lights  of  Indiana. 
Gifted  with  a  keen,  analytical  mind,  with  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
law,  his  long  practice  and  services  as  circuit  and  supreme  judge  make  him 
one  of  the  ablest  jurists  of  his  time. 

Before  the  Ci^il  war.  the  Judge  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party, 
but  since  that  conflict  has  ever  supported  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party.  In  1872  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  convention  at  Philadel- 
phia, which  body  nominated  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  for  a  second  term  as  Presi- 
dent. 

Judge  Hammond  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic,  Odd  Fellows,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  Union  \^eteran  Legion  and  Loval  Legion  fraternities. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  managers  of  the  Xational  Home  for  Dis- 
abled Volunteer  Soldiers. 

In  June.  1892,  Wabash  College  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws. 

Judge  Hammond  married,  in  1864.  ^lary  V.  Spilter.  The  living  chil- 
dren born  of  this  marriage  union  are:  Louie,  wife  of  ^^■illiam  B.  Austin; 
Eugenia  and  Xina  V.  R.  Hammond.  He  has  two  grandchildren.  Virgie, 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  B.  Austin,  married  to  R.  M.  Shayne, 
and  Nathaniel  Hammond  Hovner,  son  of  his  deceased  daughter,  [Mrs.  Ed- 
ward A.  Hovner.  By  Prof.  W.  L.  Cl.\rk. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  635 


BENNETT  TAYLOR. 


That  man  is  fortunate  who  can  trace  his  lineage  baclv  to  a  sterling  an- 
cestry, one  on  the  escutcheon  of  which  no  blight  or  shadow  of  anything 
derogatory  rests.  This  Bennett  Taylor  is  able  to  do,  since  a  glance  at  his 
ancestry  will  show  that  they  were  both  honorable  and  industrious,  playing 
well  their  parts  in  the  early  drama  of  civilization  in  Tippecanoe  county.  The 
biographist  first  learns  of  William  Taylor,  who  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  a 
fine  southern  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  who,  in  1808,  married  Florence 
Graham,  a  daughter  of  a  prominent  family  in  that  locality.  In  1828  they 
emigrated  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,,  and  located  in  that  part  of  Ran- 
dolph township  that  is  now  comprised  in  Union  township,  where  he  erected 
a  double  cabin  of  logs  in  which  he  lived  until  he  could  make  brick  and  erect 
a  more  commodious  residence.  He  was  a  hard  worker  and  soon  developed 
a  good  farm  and  had  a  splendid  home  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness  which 
lie  found  covering  the  county  at  his  advent.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were 
highly  esteemed  by  their  neighbors.  Mr.  Taylor's  death  occurred  in  1839, 
and  his  widow  survived  imtil  1856.  They  were  the  grandparents  of  the 
gentleman  whose  name  forms  the  caption  of  this  sketch.  Theii  son,  Sylvester 
Taylor,  who  married  Sarah  E.  Beasley,  is  the  father  of  Bennett  Taylor. 
Sylvester  Taylor  was  born  January  14.  1829,  on  the  farm  where  his  father 
settled  the  previous  year.  When  he  had  grown  to  proper  age  he  assisted 
with  the  work  of  developing  the  home  place  and  attended  the  neighboring 
schools,  receiving  a  fairly  good  education  for  those  early  times.  He  began 
his  career  by  teaching  school  in  the  home  neighborhood.  Not  being  satisfied 
with  what  education  he  had  obtained,  he  attended  the  old  seminary  at  Lafay- 
ette. He  married  into  a  well  known  family  of  this  county,  that  of  the  Rev. 
A.  D.  Beasley.  Sylvester  Taylor  became  a  very  successful  farmer  and  dealer 
in  livestock  and  grain,  and  was  interested  in  a  large  warehouse  on  the  Monon 
ra'lroad.  liandling  large  consignments  of  grain  annually  and  becoming  one  of 
the  county's  prominent  business  men.  He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and 
had  the  confidence  of  all  with  whom  he  had  dealings.  He  lived  in  Lafayette 
the  last  five  years  of  his  life,  dying  October  17.  1903.  It  was  about  1853 
that  he  established  Taylor's  Station. 

The  birth  of  Bennett  Taylor  occurred  at  Taylor's  Station,  Tippecanoe 
county,  December  10,  1864.  This  place  was  named  for  his  father  and  his 
uncle.  John.     Bennett  Taylor  attended  the  public  schools  at  Taylor's  Station, 


636  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

later  taking  an  academic  course  at  Purdue  University,  having  been  a  class- 
mate of  George  Ade,  both  graduating  the  same  year,  1887.  Prior  to  that 
date  he  had  spent  one  summer  in  Dakota.  In  November,  1887,  Air.  Bennett 
went  to  Romney  and  entered  the  grain  business  and  built  an  elevator  there. 
He  prospered  in  this  line  and  in  1895  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Kirkpatrick 
where  he  bought  an  elevator  and  continued  to  improve  it,  building  up  an 
extensive  trade.  Desiring  to  expand  in  this  business,  he  leased  an  elevator  at 
South  Raub  in  1898,  and  in  1900  he  purchased  the  same.  Thirty  days  later 
it  was  destroyed  by  fire  and  he  built  a  modern  one  in  its  place.  In  1901  he 
came  to  Taylor's  Station.  The  old  warehouse  had  burned  there  in  1887. 
This  was  replaced  in  1901  by  a  modern  structure  erected  for  j\Ir.  Taylor, 
thus  making  him  three  up-to-date  large  elevators.  Soon  afterwards  he  and 
William  B.  Foresman  bought  two  elevators  at  West  Point  and  leased  two 
other  elevators  on  the  Wabash  railroad.  Since  then  an  enormous  quantity 
of  grain  has  been  handled  annually. 

In  January,  1904,  Mr.  Taylor  purchased  the  stock  of  Robert  Bell  in 
the  Crabbs-Reynolds-Bell  Grain  Company,  which  operated  elevators  at  Lafay- 
ette, Crane  and  Ash  Grove.  On  July  i,  1904.  the  company  was  reorganized 
as  the  Crabbs-Reynolds-Taylor  Company,  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
and  bonds  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  following  are  the  present 
officers  who  have  served  in  their  respective  capacities  since  the  organization : 
A.  E.  Reynolds,  president ;  B.  F.  Crabbs  and  Bennett  Taylor,  vice-presidents ; 
T.  C.  Crabbs,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  William  B.  Foresman,  auditor.  A.  E. 
Reynolds,  B.  F.  and  T.  C.  Crabbs  reside  at  Crawfordsville. 

This  company  now  has  twenty  elevators  in  dififerent  parts  of  Indiana, 
all  doing  a  flourishing  business  and  requiring  the  combined  efforts  of  a  large 
number  of  men  to  successfully  handle  the  same.  No  small  part  of  the  large 
success  of  this  important  company  is  due  to  the  judicious  management,  the 
sound  counsel  and  the  unusual  business  capacity  of  Bennett  Taylor,  one  of 
the  vice-presidents  of  the  company. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  married  on  December  29,  1892,  to  Gertrude  May  Simi- 
son,  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Simison,  the  pioneer  physician  of  Romney.  He 
married  Harriet  E.  Agnew,  who  also  represented  an  old  and  honored  family. 
Mrs.  Taylor  received  a  good  education,  having  graduated  from  the  musical 
department  of  DePauw  University  in  1890  and  from  the  regular  course  of 
that  institution  in  1891.  She  was  also  an  active  member  of  Alpha  Phi  fra- 
ternity. She  is  a  woman  of  many  commendable  personal  traits  which  render 
her  a  favorite  with  a  large  circle  of  friends  in  this  locality.     To  Mr.  and 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  637 

Mrs.  Bennett  Taylor  three  children  have  been  born,  Harriet  E.  and  Mildred 
E.    Another  daughter  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Taylor  and  wife  own  a  highly  productive  farm  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty-two  acres  at  Taylor's  Station,  this  county,  also  a  section  of  land  in  North 
Dakota,  and  Mrs.  Taylor  owns  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in 
Randolph  township.  In  addition  to  his  many  business  interests,  Mr.  Taylor 
is  also  a  stockholder  in  three  banks  at  Lafayette  and  a  member  of  the  di- 
rectorate of  the  American  National  Bank. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  a  member  of  the  Lafayette  city  council  at  this  writing, 
from  the  fifth  ward,  and  he  is  looking  after  the  city's  interests  with  that 
same  fidelity  to  duty  that  has  characterized  his  individual  business  career. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  Something  of  his  high  and  excellent  standing 
in  this  city  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  overcame  a  Republican  majority 
of  one  hundred  and  forty  votes  by  forty-eight  votes.  He  was  nomi- 
nated twice  for  county  treasurer  and  made  a  very  fine  showing  in  a 
hotly  contested  race  against  very  great  odds.  He  has  long  taken  considerable 
interest  in  local  political  affairs,  and,  in  fact,  in  everything  that  has  pertained 
to  the  public  and  general  good  of  his  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Trinity 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  the  affairs  of  which  he  takes  an  abiding  in- 
terest, being  at  present  one  of  the  stewards  of  the  same.  He  also  belongs  to 
the  Sigma  Chi  fraternity.  Mr.  Taylor  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  substantial 
and  public-spirited  citizens  of  Lafayette,  where  he  is  the  recipient  of  the 
confidence  and  high  regard  of  all  classes  whether  in  business,  public  or  social 
life. 


ALBA  G.  ARNOLD. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  holds  the  important  office  of  county 
surveyor  and  enjoys  wide  repute  as  an  accomplished  civil  engineer,  is  a 
native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  early 
pioneers  who  entered  land  in  what  is  now  Lauramie  township  about  the  time 
the  country  was  opened  for  settlement.  This  ancestor  was  his  grandfather, 
Charles  Arnold,  a  true  type  of  the  sturdy  backwoodsman  of  the  early  times, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  land  which  he  purchased  from  the  government  is 
still  in  possession  of  his  descendants,  a  portion  being  owned  by  the  subject. 
Alba  G.  Arnold  was  born  near  the  village  of  Clark's  Hill,  on  the  22d  day 
of  June,    1867.  and  spent  his  childhood   and  youth  in  Lauramie  township, 


638  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

becoming  familiar  with  the  (kities  of  farm  hfe  while  a  mere  lad  and  obtaining 
his  first  educational  discipline  in  the  district  school  not  far  from  his  home. 
Actuated  by  a  laudable  desire  to  increase  his  scholastic  knowledge,  he  subse- 
quenth-  entered  the  Central  Normal  College  at  Danville,  where,  in  addition  f 
tlie  regular  course,  he  took  special  work  in  civil  engineering  and  surveying, 
and  made  a  creditable  record  as  a  close  and  critical  student.  For  the  pur- 
pose of  fitting  himself  for  teaching,  he  attended  for  some  time  the  State 
Normal  school  at  Terre  Haute  and  on  leaving  that  institution  engaged  in 
educational  work  in  his  native  county  where,  during  the  twelve  years  ensuing, 
he  taught  in  different  townships  and  achieved  much  more  than  local  repute  as 
a  capable  and  popular  instructor.  Still  later  he  taught  in  Clinton  county 
four  years  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  discontinued  educational  work 
to  devote  his  entire  time  to  civil  engineering  and  surveying,  both  of  which 
he  had  followed  at  intervals  in  the  meantime. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  months  when  not  engaged  in  teaching 
Mr.  Arnold  did  considerable  private  surveying  and  civil  engineering,  prin- 
cipally in  the  county  of  Hendricks,  and  on  quitting  the  school  room  perma- 
nentlv  returned  to  Tippecanoe  county,  of  which  he  was  elected  surveyor  in 
1906.  His  work  during  the  following  two  years  proved  eminently  satis- 
factory and  justifying  the  wisdom  of  his  election,  he  was  chosen  his  own 
successor  in  the  fall  of  1908  and  is  now  well  on  the  second  year  of  his  second 
term,  his  record  meanwhile  being  creditable  to  himself  and  comparing  favor- 
ablv  with  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors. 

As  an  official  Mr.  Arnold  is  not  only  competent  but  exceedingly  con- 
scientious and  careful,  making  duty  paramount  to  every  other  consideration, 
and  thus  far  his  work  has  been  eminently  satisfactory  and  his  name  above  the 
suspicion  of  a  reproach.  He  has  teen  a  lifelong  and  steadfast  Republican 
and  takes  an  active  interest  in  political  affairs,  being  a  judicious  adviser  in 
the  councils  of  his  party  and  an  untiring  and  influential  worker  in  the  ranks. 
]\Ir.  Arnold  some  years  ago  joined  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  and  is 
a  highly  respected  member  of  that  brotherhood,  belonging  to  Mitler  Lodge, 
No.  268,  at  Clark's  Hill,  in  which  he  has  been  honored  from  time  to  time 
with  important  official  positions.  He  is  also  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  holding  membership  with  Sheffield  Lodge,  No.  414,  at  Dayton,  and 
its  various  auxiliaries  and  demonstrating  in  his  relations  with  his  fellowmen 
the  beautiful  and  sublime  principles  upon  which  the  fraternity  is  founded.  In 
matters  religious  Mr.  Arnold  is  liberal  in  all  the  term  implies,  belonging  to 
r.n  church,  but  according  to  others  the  s?me  right  of  opinii^in  which  he  chims 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  639 

for  himself.  He  has  profound  respect  for  the  church,  however,  as  a  civilizing 
agency  and  believes  its  influence  to  be  for  the  best  interests  of  society  and  the 
state,  to  which  ends  he  contributes  to  its  support  and  encourages  the  dissemi- 
nation of  religion  among  men. 

Dr.  Arnold  is  a  married  man  and  has  a  comfortable  and  attractive  home, 
the  presiding  genius  of  which  is  a  lady  of  culture  and  refinement  whose  name 
prior  to  taking  the  name  she  now  so  worthily  bears  was  Hattie  Pierce.  Mrs. 
•Arnold  is  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  a  representative  of  one  of  the  old 
and  highly  esteemed  families  of  this  part  of  the  state  and  has  many  personal 
friends  in  the  social  circles  to  which  she  belongs. 


CHARLES  F.  WILLIAMS. 

Charles  F.  Williams,  the  senior  partner  of  the  Lafayette  Sunday  Leader, 
who  is  so  well  and  favorably  known  in  journalistic  circles  in  this  portion  of 
Indiana,  especially  in  Tippecanoe  county,  where  he  has  wielded  a  pen  of  force 
and  intelligence  for  the  past  forty  years,  was  born  in  1845  i"  Addison  county, 
Vermont,  the  son  of  Lambson  Williams  and  wife.  The  father  was  a  native 
of  ^'ermont.  The  subject  spent  his  youthful  days  at  Jersey ville,  Illinois.  As 
he  grew  in  }'ears,  he  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  the  office  of  the  Democratic- 
Union,  published  at  Jerseyville.  When  but  seventeen  years  old  he  was  in- 
duced to  take  an  interest  in  a  local  newspaper  called  The  Prairie  State,  at 
Jerseyville.  This  was  a  very  unfortunate  move,  for  within  a  short  time  the 
office  was  burned  and  young  Williams  lost  all  he  had  invested.  For  several 
years  he  was  employed  at  his  trade  in  Alton,  Illinois.  Later  he  returned  to 
Jerseyville  and  published  the  Register  for  one  year.  He  first  located  at  La- 
fayette in  1869  and  for  a  few  years  was  the  city  editor  of  the  Daily  Dispatch, 
which  paper  discontinued  in  1876.  He  then  became  connected  with  the 
Sunday  Leader,  which  paper  he  is  still  connected  with  in  company  with  his 
son,  Charles  F.  Williams.  It  was  in  1883  that  he,  in  company  with  Ross 
Gordon,  purchased  the  Sunday  Leader  from  F.  E.  D.  McGinley,  the  paper 
having  been  established  in  1872  by  John  Carr.  For  complete  history  of  this 
journal  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Press  chapter  in  this  work. 

Mr.  Williams  was  married,  in  1866,  to  Mary  C,  daughter  of  John  C. 
Dobelbower,  who  at  one  time  was  the  editor  of  the  Dispatch.  Mrs.  Williams 
was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  The  children  born  of 
this  union  were  Mary  M.,  Charles  F.  and  Laura  A. 


640  PAST    AXD    PRESENT 


DANIEL  W.   SIMMS. 


It  requires  a  master  mind  to  rise  superior  to  discouraging  environment 
and  achieve  honorable  distinction  in  a  profession  which  demands  of  its 
votaries  strong  and  well  balanced  mentality  and  a  long  and  thorough  course 
of  intellectual  and  professional  training.  The  qualities  essential  to  success 
in  such  a  calling  are  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  by  the  well-known  citizen 
of  Lafayette  whose  name  appears  at  the  head  of  this  article,  a  gentleman  who 
not  only  ranks  among  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  Tippecanoe  county  bar.  but 
has  likewise  earned  an  enviable  reputation  in  the  courts  of  northern  Indiana, 
where  his  services  have  frequently  been  utilized  in  the  trial  of  important 
cases  and  the  adjustment  of  large  and  far-reaching  legal  interests. 

Daniel  W.  Simms,  of  the  law  firm  of  Stuart,  Hammond  &  Simms,  is 
a  native  of  Crawford  county,  Illinois,  where  his  birth  occurred  on  the  13th 
day  of  February,  1862.  The  family  to  which  he  belonged,  consisting  of  the 
father,  mother,  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  moved,  in  1870,  to  Fountain 
count}^  Indiana,  where  Daniel  spent  his  youthful  years  on  a  farm.  His 
parents  being  in  humble  circumstances,  he  was  early  obliged  to  assume  much 
of  the  labor  and  responsibility  of  the  family's  support,  thus,  by  a  strenuous 
though  valuable  experience,  learning  the  true  meaning  of  honest  toil  and  the 
important  lesson  that  success  is  only  attainable  by  earnest  and  long-continued 
effort.  When  but  ten  years  of  age.  he  began  making  his  own  way  in  the 
world,  as  a  farm  laborer,  and  in  addition  to  clothing  himself  and  meeting 
other  necessar}^  expenses  from  his  hard-earned  wages,  contributed  a  generous 
share  to  his  parents,  in  this  way  early  becoming  a  helper  and  burden-sharer. 
During  the  winter  months  he  attended  the  district  schools  of  the  neighbor- 
hood and  made  commendable  progress  in  the  common  branches,  but  owing 
to  adverse  circumstances  was  obliged  to  discontinue  his  studies  for  the  sterner 
of  life's  duties,  although  a  natural  student  with  an  almost  inordinate  craving 
for  books  and  learning. 

In  1875  young  Simms  went  to  northwestern  Iowa,  where  he  spent  the 
two  ensuing  years  working  as  a  farm  hand  in  the  summer  time  and  devoting 
the  winter  seasons  to  school  work.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  dis- 
continued farm  labor  and  went  west,  where  he  took  up  the  life  of  a  cowboy, 
spending  the  three  succeeding  years  among  the  large  cattle  ranches  of  Kansas, 
the  Indian  Territory  and  Texas,  and  sharing  with  comrades  the  hardships 
and  vicissitudes  common  to  the  wild  free  experiences  of  the  prairies  and 
plains.     Mr.  Simms  went  west  in  1877.  but  after  spending  three  years  there 


DAN.  W.  SIMMS 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  64I 

decided  to  return  home  and  if  possible  secure  a  better  education,  to  the  end  that 
he  might  tit  himself  for  some  useful  occupation  or  profession.  With  this  laud- 
able object  in  view,  he  returned  in  1880  to  Fountain  county,  Indiana,  but 
finding  his  parents  in  very  poor  health  and  practically  unable  to  earn  a  liveli- 
hood he  at  once  abandoned  the  idea  of  attending  school  and  with  true  filial 
devotion  lost  no  time  in  looking  about  for  the  first  work  to  which  he  could 
lay  his  hands,  that  he  might  minister  to  the  necessities  of  the  family.  It 
was  not  long  until  he  secured  employment  on  the  Peoria  division  of  the  "Big 
Four"  railroad,  then  in  process  of  construction,  his  first  duty  being  the  driving 
of  spikes,  very  hard  and  exhausting  work  which  only  strong  and  able-bodied 
men  are  capable  of  doing.  After  spending  some  months  in  this  capacity,  he 
gave  up  the  job  and  resumed  farm  labor,  to  which  he  devoted  considerable 
time,  saving  sufticient  means  while  thus  engaged  to  carry  him  through  a 
term  of  school.  Again  the  ambitious  young  man  was  doomed  to  a  bitter 
disappointment,  for  no  sooner  had  he  perfected  arrangements  to  begin  his  stud- 
ies than  he  was  stricken  wits  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  which  within 
a  comparatively  brief  period  not  only  reduced  his  strength  to  the  lowest  possi- 
ble minimum  but  also  exhausted  his  meagre  capital.  \\'hen  sufficiently  re- 
covered, however,  he  addressed  himself  with  renewed  courage  and  fortitude 
to  the  task  of  obtaining  the  much-desired  discipline  and  in  due  time  secured 
a  place  with  a  farmer  who  agreed  to  board  and  lodge  him  while  attending 
school  in  return  for  such  labor  as  he  could  perform  of  mornings  and  even- 
ings, and  on  the  days  when  school  was  not  in  session.  In  addition  to  close 
application  to  his  regular  studies  during  the  following  winter,  the  young  man 
spent  the  long  nights  poring  over  his  books,  in  this  way  adding  not  only 
to  his  scholastic  knowledge,  but  becoming  familiar  with  the  writings  of  a 
number  of  authors  and  well  versed  on  many  general  subjects. 

By  close  and  critical  stud3-ing,  Simms,  the  following  year,  was  suffi- 
ciently advanced  to  teach  in  the  district  school,  which  line  of  work  he  fol- 
lowed for  some  time,  in  this  way  procuring  the  necessary  funds  to  enable 
him  to  attend  several  spring  and  fall  terms  at  the  National  American  Normal 
University,  Lebanon,  Ohio,  and  a  similar  institution  at  Ladoga,  Indiana. 
Actuated  by  a  laudable  desire  to  prosecute  his  studies  still  further,  he  subse- 
quently entered  Asbury  (now  DePauw)  L^niversity,  which  he  attended  until 
1885,  when  he  discontinued  his  scholastic  work  to  devnte  all  of  his  attention 
to  the  study  of  law  which  he  had  taken  up  in  the  meantime  as  the  profession 
best  suited  to  his  tastes  and  inclinations. 

W^ith  an  energy  and  ambition  which  would  not  be  satisfied  with  any 
but  a  high  standing  in  his  chosen  calling.  ^Ir.  Simms  applied  himself  dili- 
(41) 


642  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

gently  to  his  studies  and  researches  and  possessing  a  naturaUy  legal  mmd  and 
a  decided  preference  for  the  profession,  it  was  not  long  until  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  and  began  the  practice  at  Veedersburg,  Indiana,  in  partnership 
with  Freeman  E.  Miller,  a  well-known  attorney  of  that  place,  the  tirm  thus 
constituted  forging  to  the  front  in  due  time  and  securing  its  proportionate 
share  of  patronage.  While  a  resident  of  Veedersburg  Mr.  Simms  was 
induced  to  take  charge  of  the  schools  of  the  town,  which  he  conducted  for 
some  time  in  connection  with  his  professional  duties,  but  realizing  that  success 
in  eithercalling  could  not  be  attained  in  this  way  and  with  no  desire  to  con- 
tinue longer  as  an  educator  he  finally  resigned  his  position  as  principal  of 
schools,  and  in  1887  removed  to  Covington,  where  he  became  associated 
with  O.  S.  Douglass,  and  within  a  comparatively  brief  period  rose  to  a  posi- 
tion of  prominence  and  influence  among  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  county 
seat. 

Mr.  Simms,  although  practically  a  beginner,  gained  marked  success  in 
his  profession  and  in  his  new  iield  was  soon  the  peer  of  any  member  of  the 
Fountain  county  bar.  In  1891  Henry  Dochterman.  an  able  and  popular 
attorney,  tendered  him  a  partnership,  which  was  accepted  and  which  con- 
tinued until  dissolved  by  the  death  of  the  senior  member  in  March,  1893. 
The  firm,  in  the  meantime,  was  engaged  in  many  imijortant  cases,  which  by 
reason  of  the  failing  health  of  Mr.  Dochterman  fell  to  IMr.  Simms,  who,  in 
this  way,  forged  rapidly  to  the  front  as  an  able  lawyer  and  a  careful,  judi- 
cious and  eminently  successful  practitioner.  In  April  following  the  death 
of  his  partner,  Mr.  Simms  became  associated  with  Lucal  Xebeker,  under  the 
name  of  Nebeker  &  Simms.  The  firm  thus  formed  lasted  five  years,  during 
which  time  they  built  up  an  extensive  and  lucrative  business  in  the  courts 
of  Fountain  and  other  counties,  and  became  widely  and  favorably  known  in 
legal  circles  throughout  the  northern  part  of  the  state. 

With  a  practice  rapidly  outgrowing  the  limits  to  which  it  was  principally 
confined  and  a  reputation  as  an  able  and  successful  lawyer  second  to  that 
of  none  of  his  compeers,  Mr.  Simms  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  indicated 
deemed  it  advisable  to  select  a  larger  and  more  advantageous  field  for  the 
exercise  of  his  legal  talent,  accordingly,  in  the  year  1898,  he  removed  to 
Lafayette,  where  he  was  already  well  and  favorably  known  and  where  he 
at  once  attained  prominence  at  a  bar  which  had  long  been  distinguished  for 
a  high  standard  of  professional  ability.  The  same  year  in  which  he  took  up 
his  residence  in  this  city  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hanly,  Wood 
&  Simms,  long  regarded  throughout  the  state  as  an  exceptionally  strong  and 
successful  combination  and  uliich  continued  under  that  name  until  March  15, 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  643 

1899,  when  the  subject  withdi-ew  to  enter  the  firm  of  Stuart,  Hammond  & 
Simms,  with  which  he  has  since  been  identified. 

Sufficient  has  been  said  in  the  foregoing  Hnes  to  afford  a  tolerably  cor- 
rect idea  of  Mr.  Simms'  rise  and  progress  in  his  profession  and  to  justify 
the  assumption  that  the  eminent  standing  which  he  has  attained  has  been 
honorably  earned  and  that  in  the  future  his  fame  as  one  of  Indiana's  most  bril- 
liant and  successful  lawyers  and  enterprising  citizens  will  be  secure. 

Circumstances,  as  well  as  a  natural  inclination,  led  Mr.  Simms,  while 
still  a  young  man,  to  take  an  interest  in  public  and  political  affairs  and  for 
a  number  of  years  he  has  been  quite  an  active  politician  and  a  leader  of  the 
Democratic  party  in  his  various  places  of  residence.  In  1896.  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  national  convention  at  Chicago  and  two  years  later  was  the 
choice  of  his  party  for  congress,  but  his  removal  from  the  district,  a  short 
time  before  the  convention  met,  prevented  his  nomination.  Though  emi- 
nently qualified  to  fill  with  distinguished  success  any  position  within  the 
gift  of  the  people,  he  has  never  aspired  to  public  place  or  official  honors, 
having  always  been  devoted  to  his  profession  and  satisfied  with  the  simple 
title  of  citizen.  Mr.  Simms  is  pre-eminently  a  self-made  man  and  as  such 
deserves  great  credit  for  his  remarkable  rise  from  poverty  and  obscurity  to  a 
place  of  distinction  and  affluence.  Personally,  he  impresses  all  with  whom  he 
comes  into  contact,  as  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  great  force  of  character, 
nevertheless,  in  the  midst  of  the  multitudinous  cares  and  demands  of  ?, 
busy  life,  he  is  always  approachable  and  affable,  being  gracious  in  his  associ- 
ations with  his  fellow  men,  and  a  true  type  of  the  intelligent,  broad-minded, 
polished  gentleman.  Possessing  strong  and  discriminating  intellectual  quali- 
ties, which  have  been  developed  by  thorough  training,  he  not  only  keeps 
abreast  of  the  times  on  all  matters  of  moment  but  has  likewise  been  a  critical 
reader  and  a  student  of  events,  whose  opinions  always  carry  weight  and  influ- 
ence. He  has  gained  a  reputation  as  a  well-rounded  man,  admirably  equipped 
with  the  solid  and  brilliant  qualities  essential  to  success  and  distinction, 
but  above  these,  his  life  has  been  ordered  on  a  high  plane  which  bespeaks 
a  deep  sense  of  his  stewardship  as  a  representative  American  of  his  day  and 
generation.  Mr.  Simms  is  a  gentleman  of  domestic  tastes  and  finds  his 
greatest  pleasure  in  his  home,  where,  surrounded  by  his  loved  ones,  he  casts 
care  aside  and  opens  his  heart  to  all  the  noble  and  gentle  influences  which 
such  relations  bring.  His  wife,  formerly  Ezadora  J.  Wright,  has  borne  him 
three  children,  a  son,  who  died  at  the  age  of  three  and  a  half  years,  and  two 
daughters,  the  elder  of  which  died  at  the  age  of  nine. 


644  i'AST  aXd  present 


J.  LYNN  VAN  NATTA. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this  sketch  occupies  a  prominent 
place  in  the  business  circles  of  Lafayette  and  has  also  been  honored  by  his 
fellow  citizens  with  an  important  public  trust,  being  at  this  time  the  efficient 
and  popular  treasurer  of  Tippecanoe  county,  besides  holding  other  interests 
which  have  kept  his  name  before  the  people.  J.  Lynn  Van  Natta  is  a  native 
of  Tippecanoe  county  and  dates  his  birth  from  the  15th  day  of  October, 
1870,  having  first  seen  the  light  of  day  in  Shelby  township,  where  his  parents 
formerly  resided.  Job  Van  Natta,  the  subject's  father,  whose  birth  occurred 
on  January  27,  1833,  is  also  a  native  of  the  county  and  a  scion  of  one  of  the 
old  and  highly  esteemed  famihes.  He  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
as  a  farmer  and  stockdealer,  but  since  discontinuing  these  lines  of  effort  some 
years  ago  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  various  business  enterprises,  includ- 
ing, among  others,  the  Otterbein  State  Bank,  of  which  he  is  president;  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Boswell,  tOAvards  which  he  sustains  the  same  official 
relation;  the  jNIerchants  National  Bank  of  Lafayette,  of  which  he  is  director 
and  a  large  stockholder ;  the  Lafayette  Loan  and  Trust  Company  and  the  La- 
fayette Savings  Bank,  in  both  of  which  he  has  large  interests.  Mr.  Van 
Natta  possesses  business  ability  of  a  high  order,  and  as  a  financier  ranks 
among  the  most  capable  and  far-seeing  of  his  contemporaries.  His  success 
has  been  commensurate  with  the  energy'  displayed  in  his  various  undertakings, 
and  he  is  now  one  of  the  wealthy  and  influential  men  of  the  city  in  which  he 
lives,  owning,  in  addition  to  the  interests  noted  above,  a  large  amount  of 
valuable  real  estate  in  both  city  and  country,  including  nine  hundred  acres  of 
fine  land  in  Tippecanoe  township,  six  hundred  acres  in  Shelby  township  and 
seven  hundred  acres  in  the  county  of  LaGrange,  the  greater  part  under 
cultivation,  well  improved  and  representing  a  fortune  of  considerable  magni- 
tude. Mr.  Van  Natta  served  with  a  distinguished  record  in  the  Civil  war, 
joining  at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  the  Tenth  Regiment.  Indiana  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  in  which  for  three  years  he  held  the  rank  of  major  and 
later  was  commissioned  lieutenant  colonel  of  the  regiinent,  a  position  he  held 
when  discharged.  He  was  with  his  command  in  some  of  the  most  notable 
campaigns  in  which  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  took  part  and  participated  in 
a  number  of  hard-fought  battles,  and  it  fell  to  him  to  lead  in  the  first  attack 
on  tlie  string  Confederate  position  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Chickamauga. 

Harriett  Barnes,  wife  of  Job  Van  Natta,  is  a  native  of  Chillicothe.  Ohio, 
where  her  birth  occurred  on  June  19,  1842.     She  and  her  husband  live  in  a 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY.    IND.  645 

beautiful  and  comfortable  modern  home  at  No.  213  Perrin  avenue  and  are 
among  the  best  known  and  most  popular  people  of  the  cit}',  as  the  social  circles 
in  which  they  move  attest.  They  have  reared  a  family  of  six  children, 
namely :  Mrs.  Augustus  Rufifner,  of  Chicago ;  J.  Lynn,  of  this  review ;  Sam- 
uel G.,  a  stock  dealer  of  Bovina,  Texas;  Mrs.  George  Baldwin,  of  Seattle, 
Washington;  John  W.,  who  also  lives  at  Bovina,  Texas,  and  Nancy,  a  young 
unmarried  lady  who  is  still  with  her  parents. 

J.  Lynn  Van  Natta,  who  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  his  native  county, 
received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools  and  later  entered 
Purdue  University,  where  he  pursued  his  studies  until  completing  the  class- 
ical course,  receiving  his  degree  in  1894,  two  of  his  brothers  being  grad- 
uates of  the  same  institution.  Soon  after  finishing  his  education  Mr.  Van 
Natta  became  interested  in  the  livestock  business  with  his  brothers,  John  W. 
and  Samuel  G.,  and  later  he  engaged  in  another  line  of  enterprise,  the  Lafay- 
ette Fuel  and  Builders'  Supply  Company,  which  he  owned  and  operated  until 
elected  to  the  office  he  now  holds  and  in  which  he  still  retains  an  interest. 

Mr.  Van  Natta  and  his  two  brothers  alluded  to  above  own  and  operate 
one  of  the  largest  cattle  ranches  in  the  state  of  Texas  and  have  achieved 
marked  success  in  the  livestock  business.  Their  ranch,  which  lies  in  Bailey 
county  and  embraces  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  acres,  is 
stocked  with  nine  thousand  cows,  from  which  the  bovine  population  is  being 
rapidly  increased,  this  extensive  business  having  been  conducted  for  about 
five  years  by  the  Van  Natta  family,  but  since  1907  it  has  been  carried  on  by 
the  present  proprietors,  the  subject  owning  a  third  interest  in  the  enterprise. 
In  this  and  his  various  other  business  relations  Mr.  Van  Natta  has  met  with 
encouraging  success  and  he  now  stands  well  to  the  front  among  the  men  who 
have  contributed  to  the  material  progress  of  the  city  and  given  character  and 
stability  to  its  institutions. 

The  subject  early  became  interested  in  public  and  political  matters  and 
for  a  number  of  years  has  been  one  of  the  county's  active  young  Republicans 
and  a  judicious  adviser  in  the  councils  of  his  party.  In  1904  he  was  nomi- 
nated for  the  office  of  county  treasurer  and  at  the  ensuing  election  defeated 
his  opponent  by  a  very  decisive  majority  and.  in  due  time,  took  charge  of 
the  office,  the  duties  of  which  he  has  since  discharged  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  public  irrespective  of  political  ties.  His  official  career,  which  has  been 
above  the  suspicion  of  reproach,  reflects  credit  upon  himself  and  his  party, 
and  fully  demonstrates  the  wisdom  of  his  election,  the  opinion  prevailing 
that  the  county  has  never  been  served  by  a  more  capable,  courteous  or  oblig- 
ing officer. 


646  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Mr.  Van  Natta  is  a  member  of  the  Z^lasonic  fraternity  and  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  in  matters  religious  his  views  are  in  har- 
mony with  the  Methodist  creed,  himself  and  other  members  of  his  family 
having  long  been  regular  attendants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at 
Lafayette.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  pleasing  presence,  easily  approachable  and 
has  many  warm  personal  friends  in  the  city  and  country  in  whose  loyalty- 
he  reposes  the  most  implicit  confidence.  Mr.  Van  Natta  enjoyed  superior 
educational  advantages,  and  the  result  of  his  intellectual  discipline  is  perceiv- 
able not  only  in  his  culture,  courtesy  and  general  intelligence,  but  also  in 
the  broad  views  he  takes  of  men  and  things  and  the  efforts  which  he  ever  puts 
forth  to  realize  within  himself  his  high  ideals  of  manhood  and  citizenship. 

Few  men  have  exercised  a  stronger  influence  than  he  in  the  public  afifairs 
of  Lafayette  and  Tippecanoe  county  and  none  are  held  in  higher  esteem  by 
all  classes  and  conditions  of  the  populace. 


JOSEPH  DELMAR  BARTLETT. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  a  well-known  pharmacist  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  drug  house  at  No.  406  Main  street,  Lafayette,  is  a  native  of 
New  England  and  combines  in  himself  many  of  the  sterling  qualities  and  char- 
acteristics for  which  the  people  of  that  section  of  the  Union  have  long  been 
distinguished.  He  traces  his  ancestry  to  an  early  period  in  the  history  of  his 
native  state  of  New  Hampshire,  where  his  forbears  appear  to  have  settled 
in  colonial  times,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  the  branch  of  the  family 
to  which  he  belongs  is  directly  descended  from  Josiah  Bartlett,  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  a  man  of  prominence  and  in- 
fluence during  the  Revolutionary  period  and  for  some  years  following  the 
struggle  for  liberty.  Others  members  of  the  family  were  also  identified  with 
that  period  as  civilians  and  soldiers,  several  having  served  in  the  army  with 
distinction  and  added  luster  to  a  name  which  for  many  years  previous  had 
been  honored  for  achievements  in  various  lines  of  activity  and  thought. 

John  Z.  Bartlett,  the  subject's  father,  was  born  in  Sunapee,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  spent  his  life  near  that  place  as  a  prosperous  tiller  of  the  soil.  He 
was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  high  character,  reared  a  family  of  children  and 
lived  to  the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  dying  in  1905.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Saphronia  Sargent,  was  also  a  native  of  New  Hampshire  and 
is  still  living  near  Sunapee.     The  brothers  of  the  subject  are  Fred  L.,  who 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  647 

follows  the  pursuit  of  agriculture  in  New  Hampshire;  John  H.,  an  attorney- 
at-law  of  Portsmouth,  that  state,  and  Mott  L.,  who  is  connected  with  the 
Boston  &  Maine  railroad.  The  only  sister  is  Mrs.  Sadie  x\iken,  whose  husband 
is  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  St.  Johnsbury,  Vermont. 

Joseph  Delmar  Bartlett  was  born  August  5,  1872,  at  Sunapee,  New 
Hampshire,  and  spent  his  early  life  in  his  native  town,  where  he  also  received 
his  educational  training.  In  the  fall  of  1890  he  came  to  Lafayette.  Indiana, 
and  enrolled  in  the  pharmaceutical  course  at  Purdue  University  and  two  years 
later  was  graduated  from  that  institution,  after  which  he  entered  the  employ 
of  a  local  druggist,  with  whom  he  remained  six  years.  Purchasing  his  em- 
ployer's stock  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  he  established  in  1898  the  business 
at  No.  406  Main  street,  Lafayette,  which  he  still  carries  on  and  which,  under 
his  excellent  management,  has  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  his  store  is  now 
one  of  the  largest  of  the  kind  and  best  patronized  in  the  city.  Mr.  Bartlett 
carries  full  lines  of  drugs  and  chemicals,  together  with  a  complete  stock  of 
other  articles,  novelties,  sundries,  etc.,  such  as  are  found  in  a  first-class  drug 
house  and  his  patronage  is  such  that  he  now  requires  the  services  of  four 
experienced  assistants  to  supply  the  demands  of  customers.  He  is  an  accom- 
plished druggist,  familiar  with  every  phase  of  his  profession,  and  all  prescrip- 
tions and  matters  requiring  a  technical  knowledge  of  pharmacy  receive  his 
personal  attention  with  promptness  and  despatch.  His  patronage  is  of  the 
best  class  and  by  straightforward  business  methods  he  has  achieved  an  en- 
viable reputation,  his  efforts  to  please  each  customer  before  he  leaves  the 
store  being  among  the  factors  that  have  paved  the  way  to  success. 

Mr.  Bartlett  was  united  in  marriage  July  12,  1897,  with  Miss  Ella 
Kellog  Brady,  daughter  of  Jefferson  Brady,  late  of  Tippecanoe  county,  and 
IMartha  Pierce  Brady,  who  was  also  born  and  reared  in  this  part  of  the  state. 
Mrs.  Bartlett  was  educated  in  Purdue  University  and  for  some  time  previous 
to  her  marriage  taught  in  the  public  schools,  first  in  the  country  and  later  in 
the  West  Lafayette  high  school,  where  she  had  a  position  for  several  years. 
She  has  two  brothers,  Samuel  and  George  Pierce,  the  former  a  business  man 
of  Indianapolis,  the  latter  a  resident  of  Lafayette ;  Susan,  her  only  sister,  is 
married  and  living  in  West  Lafayette.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bartlett  have  a  son 
and  daughter,  the  former,  Irvin  G.,  eight  years  of  age,  and  Mary  Agnes,  six. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Bartlett  holds  membership  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  in 
politics  he  votes  the  Republican  ticket,  as  did  his  father  from  the  organization 
of  the  party  until  his  death.  As  far  back  as  he  has  any  knowledge,  his  ances- 
tors were  Methodists  and  he,  too,  subscribes  to  the  same  religious  faith,  beino^ 


648  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

with  his  wife  an  esteemed  member  of  the  Trinity  church,  Lafayette,  and 
deeply  interested  in  its  various  hues  of  good  work.  Though  never  an  office 
seeker,  Mr.  Bartlett  served  three  and  one-half  years  as  police  commissioner, 
to  which  position  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Durbin,  in  which  he  labored 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  municipality,  proving  an  able  and  popular  official, 
as  was  attested  by  the  peace  and  quietude  of  the  city  during  his  incumbency. 
Mr.  Bartlett's  life  has  been  well  spent;  whether  in  the  discharge  of  public 
duty  or  private  obligations,  his  strict  integrity  and  faithfulness  command  the 
respect  and  confidence  of  all.  His  character  is  marked  by  great  sincerity  and 
firmness;  his  manner  ever  courteous  and  genial.  Careful  and  painstaking, 
exact  and  conscientious,  he  has  from  year  to  year  prospered  and  the  future 
awaits  him  with  bounteous  rewards. 


CHARLES  BENJAMIN  HINEA. 

Lovers  of  art  and  readers  of  pages  devoted  to  this  subject  in  the  local 
press  will  readily  recognize  in  this  name  one  of  the  best  known  photographers 
in  northern  Indiana,  a  man  who  has  the  true  artistic  temperament,  both 
natural  and  acquired,  which  he  has  directed  in  proper  channels,  as  we  shall 
see  by  a  perusal  of  the  following  paragraphs.  From  earliest  boyhood  Charles 
B.  Hinea  developed  a  taste  for  art  and  a  most  commendable  ambition  to  suc- 
ceed in  this  attractive  field  of  endeavor  which  no  discipline  could  repress  and 
no  misfortune  could  entirely  check.  By  persistence  and  the  exercise  of  his 
natural  talents  he  has  not  only  achieved  a  fair  measure  of  notoriety,  but  also 
success  in  a  financial  way,  though,  as  usual  with  men  of  his  type,  perhaps  not 
equal  to  his  deserts.  He  was  born  in  Frederick,  Maryland,  August  14,  1871, 
the  son  of  Henry  and  Amanda  (Routzahn)  Hinea,  also  natives  of  Maryland. 
The  father  was  superintendent  of  a  factory  for  many  years  and  is  well  and 
favorably  known  in  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  where  he  now  resides.  His  wife 
passed  to  her  rest,  March  11,  1905,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  She  is  re- 
membered as  a  kind  and  genial  wife  and  mother.  They  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children.' only  three  of  whom  are  now  living;  Charles  Benjamin,  of  this 
review,  being  the  second  in  order  of  birth.  When  he  was  twelve  years  of  age 
his  parents  moved  to  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  where  he  grew  to  maturity.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  and  high  schools  and  after  leaving  school  he  at 
once  began  the  study  of  photography  in  Hagerstown.  Two  years  later  he 
went  to  Baltimore,  Marjland,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  higher  grade  of 


CHARLES  B.  HINEA 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  649 

instruction,  and  he  accordingly  took  a  course  in  art  under  the  famous  Dietrich. 
So  rapidly  did  young  Hinea  progress  in  this  work  that  he  found  employment 
soon  afterward  in  one  of  the  leading  art  studios  of  Baltimore,  that  of  Cum- 
mings,  the  leading  photographer  of  the  Monument  City.  His  work  attract- 
ing general  attention,  he  was  later  employed  by  Gilbert  &  Bacon  of  Phila- 
delphia. He  also  worked  at  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  Kansas  City, 
Missouri,  in  each  of  these  cities  turning  out  work  that  won  commendable 
praise  for  its  high  quality.  In  May,  1890,  he  opened  a  studio  at  Clinton,  Iowa, 
where  he  remained  one  year,  then  came  to  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  in  which  city 
he  remained  for  a  period  of  six  years.  In  September,  1898,  he  established 
a  permanent  business  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  his  studio,  at  the  corner  of  Sixth 
and  Columbia  streets,  being  a  model  of  its  kind,  having  all  the  latest  equip- 
ment and  attractive  furnishings  and  being  easily  the  leading  studio  in  the 
city.  All  grades  of  photography,  sepia,  water  colors,  enlargement,  etc.,  arc 
done  here.  In  this  line  Mr.  Hinea  has  been  awarded  several  medals  at 
national  photographers'  conventions  and  he  holds  the  silver  medal  of  the 
Indiana  Photographers'  Association.  He  was  awarded  the  bronze  medals  at 
the  Photographers'  Association  of  America  at  Chautauqua,  New  York,  in 
1896  and  1897,  and  the  following  year  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  he  received 
the  first  prize  silver  medal  mentioned  above.  He  has  built  up  a  very  extensive 
and  lucrative  patronage  with  the  people  of  Lafayette  and  surrounding  cities, 
his  name  now  being  familiar  throughout  this  locality  in  this  Hne  of  work. 

In  1893  Mr.  Hinea  was  united  in  marriage  with  Stella  Hiatt,  a  native 
of  Indiana,  and  a  lady  of  pleasing  personality  and  artistic  tastes.  This  union 
has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  .one  child.  Leslie,  a  student  in  the  local  schools 
where  he  is  making  a  very  commendable  record.  In  his  political  relations, 
Mr.  Hinea  is  a  Republican,  but  he  is  not  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  Art  League,  in  which  he  takes  considerable  inter- 
est and  has  much  influence.  Personally,  Mr.  Hinea  is  courteous,  obliging  and 
at  once  impresses  the  stranger  as  a  true  gentleman. 


CHARLES  V.  FOLCKEMER. 

C.  V.  Folckemer,  formerly  of  the  firm  known  as  \\'illiam  Folckemer  & 
Son,  but  since  April  28,  1907,  sole  proprietor  of  the  large  establishment  with 
which  his  name  is  identified,  holds  worthy  prestige  among  the  representative 
business  men  of  Lafayette  and  a  prominent  place  among  the  city's  must  enter- 


650  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

prising  and  public-spirited  citizens.  Mr.  Folckemer  is  a  native  of  Tippecanoe 
county,  Indiana,  and  the  only  son  of  William  and  Catherine  E.  (Toole) 
Folckemer,  the  father  born  September  15,  1826,  in  York  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  mother  in  Springfield,  New  Jersey,  on  June  18,  1834.  When  a 
young  man,  William  Folckemer  went  to  Ohio,  where  he  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  cabinetmaking,  after  which  he  came  to  Indiana  and,  sometime  in  the 
early  forties,  located  at  Lafayette,  where  he  was  employed  for  some  years  as 
foreman  of  a  large  cabinetmaking  establishment,  subsequently  purchasing  the 
enterprise  and  becoming  sole  proprietor  of  it.  Mr.  Folckemer,  in  due  time, 
added  greatly  to  the  capacity  of  his  place  of  business  and  in  addition  to  the 
manufacture  of  various  lines  of  cabinet  work,  he  also  bought  and  sold  fur- 
niture on  quite  an  extensive  scale,  building  up  a  large  and  lucrative  trade  and 
taking  a  prominent  position  in  the  first  rank  of  the  city's  busine'ss  men.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  the  leading  furniture  dealer  of  Lafayette,  and  in 
addition  to  promoting  his  own  interests  he  contributed  largely  to  the  material 
advancement  of  the  city  by  erecting  several  substantial  buildings,  including 
the  large  four-story  brick  block,  covering  an  area  of  forty  by  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet,  with  a  two-story  addition,  twenty  by  eighty  feet,  and  several  ex- 
tensive warehouses,  all  of  which  are  required  for  the  successful  prosecution 
of  a  business  which  has  grown  so  rapidly  in  magnitude  and  importance 
that  it  is  now  one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  of  the  kind  in 
the  state.  Mr.  Folckemer  purchased  his  employer's  interests  in  1875  ^nd 
three  years  afterward  took  his  son  Charles  in  as  a  partner,  from  which  time 
to  the  present  the  latter  has  practically  controlled  the  enterprise.  Under  his 
able  and  judicious  management  the  business  has  been  developed  until,  reach- 
ing its  present  extensive  proportions,  the  stock,  consisting  of  all  kinds  of 
furniture  demanded  by  the  trade,  both  wholesale  and  retail,  also  a  full  and 
complete  line  of  undertaking  goods  and  everything  else  required  in  the  latter 
department,  the  shop  being  amply  equipped  with  the  latest  improved  machinery 
for  the  manufacture  of  high-grade  cabinet  work  and  operated  by  mechanics 
and  artisans  selected  with  especial  reference  to  their  efficiency  and  skill,  the 
establishment  in  its  various  departments  furnishing  employment  to  an  average 
of  fifteen  men  every  working  day  of  the  year.  During  his  active  life,  Wil- 
liam Folckemer  not  only  built  up  his  own  large  business  establishment,  but 
was  also  interested  in  various  other  enterprises,  which  returned  an  ample 
income  and  made  him  one  of  the  wealthy  and  influential  men  of  the  city. 
He  dealt  quite  extensively  in  real  estate,  in  both  city  and  county,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  he  had  large  farming  interests  and  valuable  rental  property 
in  Lafayette,  also  l)ank  stock  and  various  other  investments.     In  politics,  he 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  65 1 

was  a  stanch  Republican  and  an  influential  factor  in  local  affairs,  and  for  a 
period  of  sixteen  years  represented  the  third  ward  in  the  city  council,  besides 
serving  for  a  number  of  years  as  water  works  trustee  and  filling  other  official 
positions  of  honor  and  trust.  During  his  long  term  of  service  in  the  common 
council,  he  was  instrumental  in  bringing  about  much  important  municipal 
legislation  and  he  could  have  remained  longer  in  that  body  had  he  not  declined 
a  re-election  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  noted. 

Mr.  Folckemer  was  a  man  of  high  character  and  sterling  worth,  a  zeal- 
ous member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  a  liberal  contributor  to  all  religious 
and  other  worthy  enterprises.  He  joined  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows when  a  young  man  and  for  many  years  was  the  oldest  member  of  that 
fraternity  in  Lafayette;  he  was  also  an  active  and  influential  worker  in  the 
Masonic,  Pythian.  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  and  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  lodges,  in  all  of  which  he  was  honored  from  time  to 
time  with  important  official  positions.  In  addition  to  the  various  interests 
already  alluded  to,  he  was  a  leading  spirit  in  the  organization  of  the  Lafayette 
Telephone  Company,  which  he  served  for  several  years  as  president,  and  he 
also  held  for  some  time  the  office  of  trustee  of  the  Lafayette  Loan  and  Trust 
Company  and  trustee  of  the  American  National  Bank. 

He  measured  up  to  a  high  standard  of  manhood  and  citizenship,  was 
just  to  the  poor  and  dependent  and  never  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  cries  of 
the  suffering  or  distressed.  His  was  indeed  a  good  life,  filled  to  repletion  with 
good  to  his  fellowmen,  and  when  called  to  his  final  reward,  on  the  28th  of 
April,  1907,  the  people  of  Lafayette  mourned  his  loss  as  that  of  a  true  friend 
and  benefactor  of  his  kind.  Mrs.  Folckemer  preceded  her  husband  to  the 
grave  by  nearly  seven  years,  departing  this  life  April  11,  1900,  retaining  to 
the  last  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  large  circle  of  friends  in  which  she 
moved. 

Charles  V.  Folckemer  was  born  in  Lafayette  on  August  10,  1857,  re- 
ceived his  educational  training  in  the  city  schools  and  when  still  young  entered 
his  father's  establishment,  where  he  soon  obtained  a  practical  knowledge  of 
business  life.  As  already  stated,  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  in  1878 
and  later  assumed  the  management  of  the  business,  which  under  his  direction 
and  control  has  since  grown  to  very  large  proportions  and  given  him  much 
more  than  l'~>cal  repute  as  an  enterprising,  sagacious  and  far-seeing  man  of 
affairs.  Following  in  the  footsteps  of  his  honored  father,  he  has  done  much 
to  advance  the  interests  of  the  community  and  benefit  his  fellowmen,  and 
to  him  as  much  perhaps  as  to  any  other  is  the  city  indebted  for  its  high 
reputation  as  an  important  industrial  and  business  center. 


652  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Sufficient  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  to  afford  the  reader 
an  intelligent  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  business  which  i\Ir.  Folckemer 
owns  and  controls,  and  the  only  thing  additional  to  be  stated  is  the  fact  that 
he  has  proven  a  worthy  successor  to  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  balanced  men 
the  city  has  ever  known,  and  that  he  occupies  today  an  influential  place  in  a 
community  long  noted  for  the  high  order  of  its  business  talent.  Fraternally, 
he  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  I'^lks.  D'-ni(!s  and  Eagles  orders,  in  addition  to  which  he 
also  devotes  considerable  time  and  attention  to  private  benevolences  and 
charities  and  manifests  a  lively  interest  in  all  enterprises  and  measures  having 
for  their  object  the  material  progress  of  the  city  in  which  he  resides. 

A  gentleman  of  noble  purposes  and  high  ideals.  Mr.  Folckemer  has  ever 
used  his  influence  on  the  right  side  of  moral  questions  and  issues  and  stands 
for  law  and  order  in  all  the  ternis  imply.  He  fills  a  large  place,  not  only 
in  business  circles,  but  also  in  the  public  view,  and  the  distinction  accorded  him 
of  being  one  of  the  notable  men  of  the  day  in  the  city  of  Lafayette  has  been 
well  and  honorably  earned. 


OLIVER  MORTON  NISLEY.  D.  D.  S. 

The  profession  of  dental  surgery  has  several  worthy  representatives  in 
Lafayette,  prominent  among  whom  is  Dr.  Oliver  Nisley,  who  since  about  the 
year  1890  has  practiced  his  profession  and  now  maintains  an  elegant  suite  of 
parlors  in  the  ]\Ioffitt  block  and  built  up  a  lucrative  patronage  in  all  parts 
of  the  city.  Dr.  Nisley  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Purdue  L^niversity,  October 
4.  1856.  a  son  of  Abraham  and  Nancy  (Mumma)  Nisley,  natives  of  Dauphin 
county,  Pennsylvania,  descendants  of  well  known  families  of  that  state.  Some 
time  after  their  marriage  these  parents  moved  to  Indiana,  making  their  long 
journey  to  the  new  home  in  a  one-horse  wagon  and  locating  about  the  year 
1850  two  miles  north  of  the  present  site  of  Purdue  University,  where  Mr. 
Nisley  purchased  land  and  improved  a  farm  on  which  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days,  dying  on  the  22d  day  of  November,  1889,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four.  Mrs.  Nisley,  who  departed  this  life  on  April  13th  of  the  same  year, 
was  seventy-one  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  demise  and  the  mother  of  eleven 
children,  eight  of  whom  survive.  Christian  M.,  the  oldest  of  the  family,  re- 
sides in  Lafayette  and  is  one  of  the  constables  of  the  city ;  Esther,  the  second 
in  order  of  birth,  is  unmarried  and  lives  in  Portland.  Oregon;  Emeline,  wife 
of  W.  H.  Felix,  makes  her  home  in  West  Lafayette;  Millard  F.  lives  in 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  653 

Chicago;  ^^'illiam  Orth  is  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  cultivates  a  part  of 
the  family  homestead ;  Dr.  Oliver  M.,  of  this  review,  is  the  next  in  order  of 
birth,  after  whom  is  Mrs.  Clara  Yeager,  widow  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Yeager,  of 
Lafayette;  Fannie,  who  married  O.  P.  M.  Jamison,  lives  in  Portland,  Oregon, 
where  her  husband  practices  law.  The  following  are  the  names  of  those  de- 
ceased:  Abraham  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight;  Felix  was  twenty  years 
old  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  Nancy  was  called  from  earth  at  the  tender 
age  of  three  years. 

Dr.  Nisley  received  his  elementary  education  in  the  district  schools,  and 
when  Purdue  University  was  opened  for  the  reception  of  students  he  was  one 
of  the  eighteen  who  constituted  the  first  class  enrolled  in  that  institution. 
During  his  three  and  a  half  years'  attendance  at  the  university  he  paid  his 
own  way  by  teaching,  and  after  finishing  his  course  he  turned  his  attention 
to  educational  work,  which  he  followed  with  marked  success  for  a  period  of 
eight  years,  five  in  the  common  schools  and  three  as  principal  of  the  school  of 
Linnwood.  Having  decided  to  make  dentistry  his  life  work,  he  resigned  the 
latter  position  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  indicated  and  began  the  study  of 
his  profession  in  the  office  of  Burt  &  Pattison,  of  Lafayette,  with  whom  he 
spent  three  years.  He  then  entered  the  Baltimore  College  of  Dental  Surgery, 
where  for  two  years  he  applied  himself  closely  to  his  studies,  completing  his 
course  and  receiving  his  degree  in  the  spring  of  1889,  immediately  after 
which  he  went  to  Peoria,  Illinois,  where  he  worked  in  an  office  about  one 
year,  reducing  his  knowledge  to  practice  and  becoming  familiar  with  the 
principles  of  his  profession.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was  called  home  by 
the  death  of  his  father,  and  after  settling  the  latter's  estate  he  located,  in  the 
fall  of  1889,  in  West  Lafayette,  where  his  professional  ability  was  soon  recog- 
nized as  the  steady  growth  of  his  business  abundantly  attests.  From  the 
beginning  of  his  career  to  the  present  time  his  success  has  been  most  gratifying, 
and  as  an  efficient  and  skillful  dentist,  familiar  with  every  phase  of  his  pro- 
fession and  fully  abreast  of  the  times  on  all  matters  relating  thereto,  he  oc- 
cupies a  conspicuous  place  among  the  leading  men  of  his  calling  in  the  city, 
besides  being  well  known  in  professional  circles  throughout  the  state.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Lafayette  Dental  Association  and  the  Dental  Associa- 
tion of  Indiana  and  a  regular  attendant  upon  the  sessions  of  these  Ixidies, 
availing  himself  of  every  opportunity  they  afiford  of  keeping  in  touch  with 
the  latest  discoveries  and  improvements  in  the  line  of  his  calling  and  taking 
an  active  part  in  the  discussion  of  various  questions  brought  before  them 
for  consideration.  He  also  holds  membership  with  the  Pvthian  order,  in 
which  he  takes  a  li\-ely  interest,  being  influential  in  the  regular  lodge  work 
and  a  leader  in  the  Uniform  Rank  of  the  brotherhood. 


654  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Doctor  Nisley  was  married,  November  26,  1890,  to  Florence  McCarty, 
of  Tippecanoe  county,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  J.  McCarty,  of  West 
Lafayette,  the  father  a  retired  farmer  and  a  man  of  considerable  local  prom- 
inence in  the  community  where  he  formerly  lived  and  where  he  now  resides. 
Mrs.  Nisley  has  one  brother,  William  R.  McCarty,  who  lives  in  the  country 
and  farms  the  home  place.  Doctor  Nisley  and  wife  are  members  of  the  West 
Lafayette  Baptist  church  and  are  deeply  interested  m  the  various  lines  of  re- 
ligious and  charitable  work  under  the  auspices  of  the  organization.  As  a 
citizen  the  Doctor  is  energetic  and  public-spirited,  encouraging  all  enterprises 
for  the  advancement  of  the  social  and  moral  welfare  of  the  community. 

Christian  Nisley,  the  Doctor's  older  brother,  was  a  soldier  in  the  late 
Civil  war  and  saw  much  active  service  during  the  four  years  he  was  at  the 
front.  He  enlisted  early  in  the  sixties  in  Company  D,  Fortieth  Regiment 
Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  took  part  in  a  number  of  campaigns  and  battles 
and  was  twice  wounded  and  twice  taken  prisoner  on  account  of  his  injuries. 
He  was  in  prison  when  the  war  closed  and  was  one  of  the  survivors  of  the 
ill-fated  "Sultana,"  which  blew  up  near  Memphis,  on  the  Mississippi  river, 
when  laden  with  soldiers  returning  home,  a  large  number  being  killed  or 
drowned. 


THOMAS  WILSON  LUGAR. 

T.  W.  Lugar,  one  of  the  largest  real  estate  dealers  in  Lafayette,  in  con- 
nection with  which  he  also  does  an  extensive  business  in  farm  loans  and  insur- 
ance, was  born  in  Otterbein,  Shelby  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana, 
April  15,  1871.  On  the  paternal  side  he  is  descended  from  German  ances- 
tors who  emigrated  to  America  at  a  very  early  period  and  settled  in  Vir- 
ginia. His  mother's  people  were  among  the  pioneers  of  Tippecanoe  county, 
his  grandfather,  Thomas  Ford,  a  well-to-do  farmer  and  representative  citizen, 
locating  many  years  ago  in  Shelby  township,  where  he  resided  until  his  death 
in  1905,  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety  years.  Two  of  his  sons,  Elijah  and 
Henry  C.  Ford,  served  in  the  Civil  war,  and  are  now  living  in  Wabash  town- 
ship, both  prosperous  mechanics  and  public-spirited  men. 

William  Lugar,  the  subject's  father,  is  a  native  of  Grant  county,  Indi- 
ana, and  his  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Lurinda  Jane  Ford,  was 
born  in  the  county  of  Huntington.  These  parents  were  married  June  7,  1870, 
in  Grant  county  and  during  the  seven  years  ensuing  lived  in  that  county,  where 
Mr.  Lugar  devoted  his  time  to  educational  work,  being  then  as  now  a  capable 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND. 


655 


and  popular  teacher  for  whose  services  there  was  always  a  wide  demand.  At 
the  present  time  he  resides  in  West  Lafayette,  though  still  engaged  in  his 
profession  and  in  point  of  continuous  service  he  is  now  the  oldest  teacher  m 
the  county,  having  devoted  thirty-seven  consecutive  years  to  the  work.  Wil- 
liam Lugar  and  wife  have  a  family  of  five  children,  whose  names  are  as  fol- 
lows: Thomas  W.,  of  this  review;  Vinette  E.,  employed  in  the  Lafayette 
postoffice;  Eva  E.  married  Charles  A.  D:ivis,  a  letter  c:irrier.  in  the  city  mail 
service;  John  M.,  a  farmer  of  Benton  county,  and  Bert,  a  member  of  the 
Ninth  Battery  United  States  Artillery,  with  which  he  recently  completed  three 
years  of  service.  During  that  time  he  was  on  duty  along  the  Pacific  coast  and 
from  the  date  of  his  departure  for  the  West  until  his  return  a  few  months 
ago  he  neither  visited  his  home  nor  saw  any  of  his  relatives. 

Thomas  W.  Lugar  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town- 
ship and  began  life  for  himself  as  a  farmer,  which  honorable  vocation  he  fol- 
lowed with  fair  success  for  several  years.  Discontinuing  the  pursuit  of  agri- 
culture, he  accepted  the  position  of  deputy  recorder  of  Benton  county  and  after 
servmg  lour  years  in  that  capacity  came  in  1899  to  Lafayette  and  established 
the  real  estate,  loan  and  insurance  business  which  he  now  carries  on,  opening 
an  office  at  No.  219  North  Fourth  street,  which  has  become  a  favorite  resort 
for  those  who  have  dealings  in  his  lines. 

Mr.  Lugar  came  to  this  city  representing  the  A.  Goodell  &  Sons  Com- 
pany of  Loda,  Illinois,  and  has  since  been  associated  with  that  well  known  and 
prosperous  firm.  While  dealing  quite  extensively  in  all  kinds  of  real  estate 
and  having  a  large  and  lucrative  patronage  in  insurance,  he  makes  a  specialty 
of  farm  loans  in  which  he  does  a  large  volume  of  business.  By  honorable 
methods  and  adhering  to  the  policy  of  a  "square  deal,''  which  his  firm  early 
adopted  as  a  cardinal  principle,  he  has  greatly  extended  his  patronage  which 
now  takes  a  wide  range  in  Tippecanoe  and  neighboring  counties,  and  in  the 
different  lines  represented  he  has  little  to  fear  from  any  of  his  competitors. 

Mr.  Lugar,  on  June  6,  1900,  was  united  in  marriage  with  Ada  Pearl 
Sense,  daughter  of  William  H.  and  Susan  Sense,  of  Wabash  township.  She 
was  one  of  twelve  children  born  to  her  father  and  mother  whose  names  are 
as  follows:  Elmer  F.,  Harry  C,  Carrie  (now  deceased),  Harvey  G.,  Dora  A. 
(wife  of  C.  E.  Wakeman,  of  Millersburg,  Indiana),  Ottis  G.,  Ella  N.,  John 
E.,  Ada  P.  (subject's  wife),  Jessie  B.,  Earl  C.  and  Ida  M.  This  marriage 
has  been  blessed  with  four  offspring,  namely:  James  T.,  Ethel  Marie,  Lolo 
Lurinda  and  Susan  Elizabeth,  all  living  and  adding  greatly  to  the  interest 
and  happiness  of  the  home  circle.  In  his  religious  faith  Mr.  Lugar  subscribes 
to  the  Alethodist    creed,  his  wife  being  a    Baptist  in  belief    and  an  esteemed 


656 


PAST    AND    PRESENT 


member  of  the  church  in  \\'est  Lafayette.  Politically.  ^Ir.  Lugar  is  a  stanch 
Republican  and  manifests  a  lively  interest  in  public  affairs,  contributing  to 
the  success  of  his  party  by  all  honorable  means  at  his  command,  but  never 
seeking  office  or  leadership  for  himself.  His  fraternal  relations  include  mem- 
bership with  Otterbein  Lodge,  No.  605,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  Purdue  Grove,  No.  18,  Ancient  Order  of  Druids,  in  both  of  which  so- 
cieties he  has  rendered  efficient  service  and  at  intervals  held  important  and 
official  positions. 


OLIVER    WEBSTER   PEIRCE. 

The  family  bearing  this  name  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  history 
of  Lafayette  for  more  than  seventy-three  years.  During  that  long  period  the 
name  has  been  associated  with  many  of  the  important  industries  and  com- 
mercial enterprises  which  have  developed  a  modern,  prosperous  city  from  the 
frontier  village  of  the  early  days.  Martin  L.  Peirce.  the  first  of  the  family 
to  emigrate  to  Indiana,  came  to  Lafayette  from  Parke  county,  this  state,  in 
1836.  when  railroads  were  unknown  in  that  far  west.  He  was  prominently 
identified  with  the  business  interests  of  Lafayette  for  many  years  prior  to  his 
demise,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  another  page  of  this  volume  for  the 
more  extended  as  well  as  interesting  record  of  that  distinguished  pioneer 
citizen. 

Oliver  W.  Pierce,  a  son  of  the  above-mentioned  by  adoption,  was  born 
in  Parke  county,  Indiana,  January  8,  1829,  and  was  about  seven  vears 
old  when  he  accompanied  his  father  to  Lafayette.  This  was  in  the  days 
prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  public  school  system  in  Indiana  and  the 
early  educational  discipline  of  young  Peirce  was  derived  from  attendance 
upon  the  subscription  schools  of  the  day.  He  later  attended  the  county 
seminary,  which  was  established  during  his  boyhood,  where  he  secured  a 
good  education.  It  was  the  custom  in  those  days  for  boys  to  start  life  early 
and  Oliver  was  only  seventeen  years  old  when  he  began  his  business  career. 
His  father  was  a  member  of  the  commission  firm  of  Hanna,  Barbee  &  Com- 
pany, whose  business  consisted  in  advancing  money  to  grain  dealers  for 
moving  their  crops,  for  which  a  commission  was  charged.  The  firm  was 
also  extensively  engaged  in  advancing  money  to  pork  packers  throughout 
the  country.  Oliver  W.  was  given  the  position  of  receiving  clerk,  at  a  salary 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per  year,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year 
he  had  saved  forty-three  dollars  and  desired  to  in\est  the  same  on  his  own 


-^^-(^ 


Jl^ 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  657 

account.  With  the  consent  of  his  father,  he  was  given  the  use  of  a  small 
space  in  the  company's  building,  where  he  erected  some  shelving,  bought 
coffee  in  New  York,  and  began  business  for  himself  as  O.  W.  Peirce  & 
Company,  although  he  continued  in  the  employ  of  the  commission  firm, 
hiring  a  boy  associate  at  twenty-five  cents  per  day  to  look  after  his  coffee 
sales.  This  was  in  1847,  ^vhen  the  subject  was  only  eighteen  years  of  age. 
During  the  epidemic  of  cholera,  which  raged  at  that  time,  prices  on  coffee 
soared  skyward  and  the  young  merchant  reaped  handsome  profits  from  the 
sale  of  that  commodity.  He  continued  trading  in  staples  successfully,  with 
the  result  that  his  interests  began  to  expand  and  assume  pretentious  propor- 
tions, and  it  was  soon  necessary  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  business. 
In  December,  1849,  he  went  on  a  trading  trip  to  New  Orleans,  going  by  stage 
to  Indianapolis,  by  rail  to  Madison  and  by  steamer  down  the  Ohio.  Arriv- 
ing at  Louisville  he  was  obliged  to  remain  there  several  days  on  account 
of  the  river  being  frozen  and  navigation  closed.  Nothing  daunted,  however, 
he  finally  secured  passage  by  stage  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  a  week  later 
was  enabled  to  continue  by  boat  on  to  his  destination.  In  the  southern  city, 
then  the  great  emporium  of  the  South,  he  purchased  sugar,  molasses  and 
coffee,  which  were  shipped  up  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wa- 
bash and  thence  by  the  latter  stream  to  Lafayette.  On  returning  home  he 
engaged  in  the  wholesale  trade,  disposing  of  his  goods  to  the  retail  mer- 
chants. This  proved  to  be  the  foundation  of  what  has  since  developed  into 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  wholesale  enterprises  ever  established 
in  Indiana.  In  the  early  days  of  the  wholesale  trade  the  staple  line  of 
groceries  was  limited  practically  to  sugar,  molasses  and  coffee,  with  a  little 
tea  and  tobacco  on  the  side.  Since  then  it  has  gradually  expanded  until  at 
present  a  modern  wholesale  establishment,  such  as  that  conducted  by  O.  W. 
Peirce  Company,  embraces  every  variety  of  goods  carried  by  a  modern 
retail  store  in  the  same  line  of  trade.  The  roasting  of  coffee  has  also  become 
a  very  important  part  of  this  company's  business.  It  is  a  package  coffee 
known  as  "Peirce's  Golden  Rio"  and  it  is  sold  extensively  in  a  number  of 
Northern  and  Southern  states  and  has  proven  to  be  a  verv  popular  brand,  car 
load  after  carload  being  shipped  to  various  parts  of  the  country.  In  fact,, 
in  the  roasting  of  package  coffee  O.  W.  Peirce  Company  enjoys  the  prestige 
of  occupying  fourth  place  among  the  largest  concerns  of  the  United  States 
in  this  line  of  industry.  From  seventy-five  to  eighty  people  find  steady 
employment  with  this  concern  and  an  average  of  fifteen  traveling  salesmen  are 
necessary  to  look  after  the  business  in  the  large  scope  of  territory  covered 
by  the  firm.  In  order  to  meet  the  growing  demands  of  modern  business 
(42) 


658  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

methods  the  O.  W.  Peirce  Company  was  organized  and  incorporated  July 
30,  1904.  with  a  capital  stock  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The 
officers  of  the  company  at  the  present  time  are  as  follows :  O.  W.  Peirce, 
Sr.,  president;  O.  \Y.  Peirce,  Jr.,  secretary,  and  E.  R.  Fielding,  secretary. 

The  success  which  has  attended  the  efiforts  of  Mr.  Peirce  during  an 
active  business  career  in  Lafayette  of  more  than  sixty  years  has  been  brought 
about  by  close  attention  to  business,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  details  in  both 
buying  and  selling  and  the  possession  of  those  faculties  of  rare  foresight,  dis- 
crimination and  conservatism.  While  the  personnel  of  the  firm  has  changed 
a  number  of  times,  and  from  1853  to  1856  it  was  known  as  Reynolds,  Hatcher 
&  Peirce,  the  latter  has  always  been  the  directing  head  and  active  manager 
of  the  concern.  Since  fhe  dissolution  of  the  above  named  firm  in  1856  the 
business  has  been  carried  on  under  the  name  of  O.  W.  Peirce  &  Company 
until  the  recent  incorporation  of  O.  W.  Peirce  Company.  The  only  partner 
of  our  subject  at  the  present  time  is  his  son,  O.  \\'.  Peirce.  Jr.  The  latter 
is  a  man  of  excellent  business  qualifications,  and  having  grown  up  in  the  busi- 
ness he  has  mastered  all  the  details  which  have  made  for  success  in  the  past 
and  having  assumed  the  active  management  of  the  concern  his  future  as  well 
as  the  successful  continuance  of  the  business  is  assured. 

When  in  a  reminiscent  mood  Mr.  Peirce  talks  entertainingly  of  old 
times  in  Lafayette,  of  which  he  has  many  instructive  stories.  He  recalls 
with  pleasure  his  first  trading  trip  to  New  Orleans  in  1849,  when  he  was 
an  inexperienced  boy.  Though  ordinarily  it  could  be  made  in  ten  days,  this 
trip  consumed  six  weeks,  owing  to  ice  in  the  river  which  greatly  interfered 
with  navigation.  He  made  from  one  to  three  trips  each  year  until  the  Civil 
war  came  on  and  in  all  made  fifty-two  of  these  trading  trips  to  New  Orleans. 
On  more  than  one  occasion  he  walked  the  greater  portion  of  the  distance. 
In  1852  Mr.  Peirce  furnished  the  capital  and  Mr.  Cherry  the  experience  to 
start  a  soap  factory.  It  began  in  a  small  way  in  a  frame  building  and  made 
soap,  candles  and  lard  oil.  This  was  the  forerunner  of  the  present  M.  &  J. 
Schnaible  factory,  now  located  on  the  same  site,  which  ships  soap  far  and 
wide.  When  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  Mr.  Peirce  was  in  Baltimore  and 
the  Maryland  merchants  were  so  frightened  that  he  was  enabled  to  purchase 
quantities  of  merchandise  at  from  a  fifth  to  a  fourth  of  the  ordinary  price. 
During  President  Grant's  administration  Mr.  Peirce's  store  was  Republican 
headquarters  for  a  large  scope  of  territory,  but  at  the  same  time  it  was 
generally  understood  that  the  discussion  of  such  absorbing  topics  should 
not  interfere  with  business,  for  Mr.  Peirce  had  stated  frankly  and  plainly 
that  he  was  selling  groceries,  not  politics. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  659 

As  a  business  man  Mr.  Peirce  has  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  among 
the  successful  merchants  of  Lafayette  for  many  years,  in  fact  he  is  one  of 
the  oldest  in  point  of  continuous  service  in  that  city.  Although  he  has 
passed  the  eightieth  milestone  in  life's  journey,  he  is  still  hale  and  hearty  and 
active  to  a  degree  seldom  attained  by  many  men  twenty  or  twenty-live  years 
his  junior.  In  his  political  relations  Mr.  Peirce  has  always  affiliated  with 
the  Republican  party  since  its  organization,  and  while  he  has  exhibited  an 
abiding  interest  in  the  success  of  its  candidates  he  has  never  aspired  to  political 
preferment.  For  more  than  forty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  First 
Baptist  church  of  Lafayette.  During  that  period  he  has  served  in  various 
official  capacities,  was  a  member  of  the  building  committee  at  the  time  the 
present  church  edifice  was  constructed  and  in  many  ways  has  contributed  to 
the  advancement  and  welfare  of  the  organization. 


WILLIAM  ROBINSON  MOFFITT.  M.  D. 

Distinguished  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  and  holding  worthy  prestige 
as  a  citizen,  Dr.  William  R.  Moffitt  fills  a  large  place  in  professional  circles, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  active  in  promoting  the  material  advance- 
ment of  the  city  in  which  he  resides  and  the  social  and  moral  progress  of  its 
populace.  He  is  a  native  and  lifelong  resident  of  Tippecanoe  county  and  the 
second  of  a  family  of  seven  children,  whose  parents,  Benjamin  Rush  and 
Clarissa  Jane  (Robinson)  Moffitt,  were  also  born  in  Indiana,  the  former  in 
Connersville,  the  latter  on  the  old  farm  six  miles  west  of  Lafayette,  which 
was  purchased  from  the  government  in  pioneer  times  by  William  Robinson, 
the  Doctor's  grandfather,  and  which  in  memory  of  him  is  still  known  as  the 
Robinson  place.  William  Robinson  and  wife  Matilda  were  among  the  first 
permanent  settlers  of  the  locality  indicated  and  the  family  has  been  actively 
identified  with  that  and  other  parts  of  the  county  from  pioneer  days  to  the 
present  time.  Benjamin  Rush  Moffitt,  who  also  came  to  Tippecanoe  county 
in  an  early  day,  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  at  the  beginning  of  the  struggle  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  Tenth  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  witn 
which  he  served  about  one  and  a  half  years,  when  he  was  discharged  on 
account  of  disability.  He  married  Miss  Robinson  in  Tippecanoe  county, 
reared  a  family  of  seven  children,  and  departed  this  life,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five  years,  on  his  farm   in  Jasper  county,   Indiana.     Their  children  are  all 


66o  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

living  and  highly  esteemed  in  their  respective  places  of  residence,  being  well 
situated  as  regards  material  means  and  popular  among  those  with  whom  they 
associate.  Othniel.  the  oldest  of  the  family,  lives  at  Valparaiso,  this  state, 
and  deals  quite  extensively  in  produce;  Olive  M.,  the  second  in  order  of  birth, 
married  William  Jordan,  an  ex-soldier  who  died  in  1906,  since  which  time  she 
has  made  her  home  in  Dephi.  Dr.  William  R.,  of  this  review,  is  the  third 
in  succession,  after  whom  comes  Mrs.  Isabel  Barcley,  a  widow  who  resides 
in  the  city  of  Valparaiso ;  Reuben  R.  and  Richard  are  twins,  the  former  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  in  northern  Indiana,  the  latter  living  in  La- 
fayette; Mrs.  Jennie  Blake,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  lives  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state,  where  her  husband  is  engaged  in  farming. 

The  subject's  paternal  grandfather.  Dr.  Joseph  Moffitt,  was  a  graduate 
of  Yale  College  and  a  physician  of  distinguished  ability  in  his  day.  He  served 
as  surgeon  in  the  American  army  during  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  on  Perry's 
fleet  in  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie.  Later  he  settled  at  Connersville,  Indiana, 
where  he  rose  to  a  conspicuous  position  in  his  profession  and  became  widely 
and  favorably  known  as  an  enterprising  man  of  affairs.  He  died  at  that 
place  in  the  prime  of  his  life  and  usefulness  and  left  to  his  posterity  a  name 
to  which  the  passing  years  have  added  luster  and  renown.  Dr.  Joseph 
Moffitt  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Dr.  O.  L.  Clark,  one  of  the  pioneer  physicians 
of  Lafayette  and  a  man  of  wide  influence  in  the  affairs  of  Tippecanoe  county 
in  early  times. 

Dr.  William  R.  Moffitt,  a  brief  review  of  whose  career  appears  in  the 
following  lines,  was  born  December  8,  1849,  on  the  family  homestead  about 
seven  miles  west  of  Lafayette,  in  Wabash  township,  and  spent  his  early  years 
amid  the  attractive  scenes  and  wholesome  influences  of  rural  life.  He  was 
reared  to  habits  of  industry  and,  like  the  majority  of  country  lads,  learned  by 
practical  experience  the  meaning  of  honest  toil,  working  in  the  fields  during 
the  spring  and  summer  seasons  and  in  the  fall  and  winter  months  attending 
the  district  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home.  In  this  way  he  spent  his 
time  until  twenty-one  years  of  age,  when  he  entered  the  Methodist  College 
at  Ft.  Wayne,  of  which  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  R.  D.  Robinson,  was  then  presi- 
dent, and  devoted  the  five  years  ensuing  to  close  and  critical  study,  making 
rapid  progress  the  meanwhile  and  taking  high  rank  as  a  student.  During 
his  last  year  in  the  above  institution  he  read  medicine  in  connection  with  his 
other  studies,  his  instructor  being  Dr.  W.  H.  Myers,  one  of  the  leading 
phvsicians  of  the  city,  under  whose  direction  he  was  in  due  time  enabled  to 
enter  Ft.  Wayne  Medical  College,  where  he  took  his  first  course  of  lectures. 
Later,  he  prosecuted  his  studies  at  the  Medical  College  of  Indiana  at  Indian- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  66l 

apolis,  where  he  was  graduated  in  the  year  1877,  immediately  after  which 
he  returned  to  Tippecanoe  county,  where  he  opened  an  office  in  West  La- 
fayette, and  has  since  practiced  with  eminent  success,  being  at  this  time  one 
of  the  best  known  physicians  and  surgeons  of  the  city  and  county. 

Doctor  Moffitt's  large  and  steadily  growing  practice  has  been  as  suc- 
cessful financially  as  professionally,  and  from  time  to  time  he  has  contributed 
to  the  material  part  of  Lafayette,  in  the  way  of  buildings,  including  the  large 
two-story  brick  structure  in  which  he  has  his  office,  the  building  being  erected 
especially  for  office  purposes  and  being  especially  adapted  and  conceded  to 
be  unequaled  in  this  respect  by  any  other  in  the  city.  He  has  also  ac- 
cumulated other  valuable  real  estate  both  in  the  city  and  country,  his  resi- 
dence properties  in  Lafayette  alone  being  conservatively  estimated  at 
$40,000,  which,  with  various  other  holdings,  represent  a  fortune  of  consider- 
adle  magnitude  and  make  him  one  of  the  solid  and  well-to-do  men  of  the 
community. 

Doctor  Moffitt  engaged  in  his  life  work  well  fitted  for  its  many  onerous 
duties  and  responsibilities  and  has  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  to  keep 
in  touch  with  the  trend  of  professional  thought  and  abreast  of  the  times  in  the 
latest  discoveries  in  medical  science.  He  has  never  ceased  being  a  student,  and 
when  not  engaged  in  active  professional  duties  spends  his  time  in  his  library 
in  communion  with  the  greatest  thinkers  of  the  ages. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Indiana  State  Medical  Association,  the  District 
Medical  Association,  and  the  Medical  Society  of  Tippecanoe  County,  in  the 
deliberations  of  which  bodies  he  keeps  himself  well  informed,  and  often  con- 
tributes to  the  papers,  which  elicit  praise  for  his  professional  scholarship 
and  thought. 

Actuated  by  a  desire  to  fit  himself  for  the  greatest  possible  efficiency,  the 
Doctor  some  years  ago  entered  the  Polyclinic  Hospital  School  of  Medicine 
in  Chicago,  from  which  he  received  a  diploma  in  1897,  and  in  1900  he  was 
graduated  from  the  Post-Graduate  School  of  Medicine  of  New  York  city,  thus 
leaving  nothing  undone  in  the  way  of  making  himself  a  true  healer  of  suffer- 
ing humanity.  He  has  been  one  of  the  medical  staff  of  physicians  at  St. 
Elizabeth's  Hospital  for  over  twenty-five  years  and  served  one  term  as  county 
coroner,  though  never  an  office  seeker  and  having  little  taste  for  public  life. 

On  September  14,  1882,  Doctor  Moffitt  was  united  in  the  bonds  of  wed- 
lock with  Alice  S.  Robinson,  who,  though  of  the  same  name  as  his  mother's 
before  her  marriage,  is  in  no  wise  related  to  the  latter.  Mrs.  Moffitt's  father, 
Horney  Robinson,  was  a  pioneer  of  Allen  county.  Indiana,  locating  near  Ft. 
Wayne  about  the  year  1829.  and  taking  an  active  interest  in  the  development 


662  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

and  growth  of  the  part  of  the  country  in  which  he  settled.  Mrs.  Moffitt  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Allen  county  and  Ft.  Wayne,  and  is  a  woman  of  ex- 
cellent character  and  always  manifests  an  abiding  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
those  with  whom  she  mingles  and  moves  in  the  best  society  circles  of  West  La- 
fayette. Doctor  and  Mrs.  Moffitt  have  one  child,  Bertha  J.,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred on  November  8,  1883,  and  who  received  a  liberal  education,  graduating 
in  due  time  from  the  West  Side  high  school  and  from  Purdue  University 
with  the  class  of  1906.  In  his  political  affiliations  the  Doctor  has  been  a 
lifelong  Republican,  and  since  attaining  his  majority  an  influential  and  leading 
member  of  the  party.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  an  active  worker 
for  the  success  of  his  party  and  candidates,  attending  the  various  nominating 
conventions,  local,  district  and  state,  in  all  of  which  his  opinions  command  re- 
spect and  his  judgment  weight. 


GEORGE  LAWSON  BRUCE. 

George  L.  Bruce,  dealer  in  musical  instruments  and  one  of  the  most 
accomplished  musicians  of  Lafayette,  is  a  native  of  Indiana,  born  in  Jasper 
county  on  the  21st  day  of  June,  1852.  Lawson  Bruce,  his  father,  was  a 
New  Englander  and  a  descendant  of  an  old  Vermont  family,  and  his  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Sarah  Pyke,  came  from  Pennsylvania.  The  Pyke 
family  moved  to  Indiana  in  an  early  day  and  were  among  the  pioneers  of 
Tippecanoe  county,  in  various  parts  of  which  descendants  still  reside.  The 
Bruces  were  also  early  comers  to  this  part  of  the  state  and  the  above  parents 
grew  to  maturity  and  were  married  in  Lafayette  and  lived  here  a  number  of 
years,  subsequently  removing  to  Rensselaer,  Jasper  county,  where  Mr.  Bruce 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  His  widow  survived  him  some  years  and 
departed  this  life  in  the  month  of  February,  1904.  The  family  of  this  couple 
consisted  of  three  children,  of  whom  the  subject  is  the  only  son  and  the  third 
in  order  of  birth. 

George  Lawson  Bruce  was  brought  to  Lafayette  when  a  child,  from  which 
time  to  the  present  his  life  has  been  closely  identified  with  the  city.  The  public 
schools  which  he  attended  during  his  childhood  and  youth  afiforded  him  the 
means  of  obtaining  a  practical  education,  and  while  still  young  he  accepted  a 
clerkship  in  a  music  store,  where  he  remained  until  acquiring  a  knowledge  of 
the  business  and  becoming  quite  skilled  in  the  use  of  several  kinds  of  instru- 
ments.   In  1875  he  severed  his  connection  with  his  employer  to  become  man- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  663 

ager  of  another  firm  of  the  same  kind  and  after  serving  six  years  in  that 
capacity  he  purchased  the  stock  and  established  the  business  which  he  has  since 
conducted  and  which  under  his  capable  management  has  grown  into  the  largest 
and  best  known  music  house  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Bruce  has  been  at  his  present  location  since  1875  and  sole  proprietor 
of  the  establishment  since  1890.  As  indicated  above,  his  career  presents  a 
series  of  continued  successes  such  as  few  achieve  and  the  high  position  to  which 
he  has  attained  in  the  business  world  is  due  entirely  to  his  own  efforts,  as  he 
began  life  for  himself  in  the  modest  capacity  of  a  clerk  and  on  becoming  pro- 
prietor had  much  with  which  to  contend  ere  finding  his  feet  on  sohd  financial 
ground.  Early  in  his  experience  Mr.  Bruce  determined  to  master  the  under- 
lying principles  of  business  and,  having  decided  upon  the  line  most  suited  to 
his  tastes  and  inclinations,  he  spared  no  reasonable  effort  in  acquiring  a  knowl- 
edge of  music  and  the  ability  to  reduce  the  same  to  practice.  While  still  a 
youth  he  manifested  a  decided  aptitude  for  music  and  after  entering  the  store 
it  was  not  long  until  he  became  an  efficient  performer  on  the  various  kinds 
of  instruments  in  stock.  Later  he  prosecuted  his  musical  studies  under  in- 
structors of  recognized  ability  and,  applying  himself  closely,  he  became  in  due 
time  one  of  the  most  skillful  musicians  in  Lafayette  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
successful  dealers  in  the  same.  He  carries  full  lines  of  all  kinds  of  instru- 
ments and  musical  merchandise,  which  he  buys  direct,  owning  the  large  stock 
which  he  always  has  on  hand.  His  business  has  grown  to  such  large  pro- 
portions that  he  now  employs  in  addition  to  several  clerks  in  the  house  three 
salesmen  who  represent  his  goods  on  the  road  and  who  during  the  past  few 
years  have  built  up  and  greatly  extended  his  trade.  His  establishment  has  a 
large  and  lucrative  local  patronage  also,  while  the  demand  for  his  goods  by 
the  general  trade  in  many  other  cities  and  towns  throughout  Indiana  and 
neighboring  states  taxes  the  capacity  of  his  house  to  supply,  besides  giving  a 
wide  and  enviable  reputation  in  musical  as  well  as  business  circles. 

While  a  skillful  performer  on  several  kinds  of  instruments,  Mr.  Bruce 
is  especially  efficient  as  a  pianist  and  organist.  For  thirty-five  consecutive 
years  he  presided  at  the  organ  in  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and 
could  have  retained  the  position  indefinitely  had  he  so  desired,  but  recently, 
much  against  the  wishes  of  the  congregation  and  greatly  to  their  disappoint- 
ment, he  declined  to  remain  longer,  deeming  almost  a  lifetime  of  service  in 
furnishing  music  for  public  worship  sufficient  to  entitle  him  to  the  rest  which 
he  so  ably  and  conscientiously  earned. 

Mr.  Bruce  and  family  are  Methodists  and  regular  attendants  of  Trinity 
church,  with  which  they  are  identified  and  which  the  subject  served  so  long 


664  PAST    AXD    PRESENT 

and  faithfully  as  organist.  He  is  a  member  of  the  official  board  of  said 
church,  and  at  different  times  has  held  various  other  official  positions  in  the 
organization,  besides  being  a  liberal  contributor  to  its  support  and  a  donor  to 
all  worthy  enterprises  and  humanitarian  measures.  Politically  he  votes  the 
Republican  ticket,  but  has  never  held  an  elective  office,  having  little  taste  for 
public  life  and  less  for  the  chicanery  and  trickery  which  are  sometimes  neces- 
sary in  order  to  attain  positions  at  the  hands  of  one's  fellow  citizens.  Mr. 
Bruce  is  an  enthusiastic  friend  of  fraternal  work  and  belongs  to  several  orders 
based  on  the  principle  of  secrecy.  He  is  a  Mason  of  high  degree,  holding 
membership  with  Lafayette  Lodge,  No.  123,  Chapter  No.  3,  Royal  Arch 
Masons.  Commandery  No.  3,  Knights  Templar,  and  Hope  Chapter  No.  5, 
Order  of  Eastern  Star.  He  is  also  identified  with  Lodge  No.  55,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  Lodge  Xo.  143.  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  in  both  of  which  as  well  as  in  the  Masonic  brotherhood  he  has  been 
chosen  to  positions  of  honor  and  trust. 


BRAINARD  HOOKER. 

Brainard  Hooker  was  born  at  Nugent  Hollow,  in  Vanderburg  county, 
about  eight  miles  from  Evansville,  Indiana,  September  18,  1868.  Henry  H. 
Hooker,  his  father,  is  a  physician  who  has  won  a  high  reputation  as  an  ob- 
stetrician. He  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  Rush  Medical 
College  in  the  early  sixties.  He  earlier  taught  in  the  primitive  district 
schools.  He  is  the  son  of  one  Thomas  Hooker,  who  came  to  Evansville  at 
an  early  day  from  South  Carolina  and  who  is  a  descendant  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Hooker,  of  Hartford.  Connecticut.  With  but  one  known  exception,  all  the 
Hookers  of  America  and  England  are  related.  Gen.  Joseph  Hooker,  of  the 
Civil  war.  Sir  Joseph  Dalton  Hooker,  the  English  botanist,  and  Richard 
Hooker,  the  theologian,  are  members  of  the  family.  One  family  at  least  of 
German  origin  now  uses  the  name  of  Hooker  in  America,  the  German  name 
having  been  Hoockards.  Perhaps  the  economy  in  using  the  shorter  name  is 
the  reason  for  the  change  of  spelling.  A  study  of  the  origin  of  names  would 
lead  one  to  conclude  that  as  Fisher  named  the  man  for  his  occupation,  so  the 
Hookers  in  early  times  in  England  were  the  lovers  of  the  rod  and  line. 

The  subject's  mother  was  Mary  H.  (Headen)  Hooker,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Headen  and  Mary  Nugent,  who  brought  her  and  two  other  daughters 
and  two  sons  from  Ireland.     The  familv  settled  on  the  Ohio  river  at  the  vil- 


BRAINARD  HOOKER 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  665 

lage  of  Evansville,  which  was  then  composed  of  a  few  log  huts.  The  father 
was  a  grocer  for  a  time,  then  he  bought  Nugent  Hollow,  still  owned  by  the 
Rev.  H.  S.  Headen,  of  New  Albany,  the  youngest  child  of  the  family.  Mary 
was  a  babe  a  few  weeks  old  when  the  trip  was  made  across  the  Atlantic 
in  a  small  sail  boat.  Her  schooling  was  received  in  the  district  school,  and 
part  of  a  year  was  spent  in  Madison  University,  where  Anna,  her  older 
sister,  had  been  graduated.  The  Civil  war  called  her  brothers,  Thomas  and 
Robert,  to  the  field  of  battle,  and  as  her  father  had  died  some  years  before, 
she  was,  with  the  other  girls  of  the  family,  called  upon  to  work  on  the  farm 
in  the  summer  and  teach  in  the  winter  to  support  the  family.  She  was  mar- 
ried to  Henry  Hamilton  Hooker  in  1867,  and  she  died  of  a  complication  of 
diseases  in  August,  1899. 

There  were  eight  children  in  the  family  of  Henry  and  Mary  Hooker, 
and  the  parents  fancied  the  use  of  but  one  name  for  each  of  their  children. 
Brainard,  the  eldest,  was  named  for  one  of  the  Doctor's  college  professors 
Sherry,  the  second  child,  for  the  Sherrys,  relatives  of  the  Headens.  Maggie 
for  her  aunt  Maggie  Headen  Hooker,  wife  of  Prof.  R.  P.  Hooker,  of  Evans- 
ville. Mabel,  a  name  euphonious.  Kitty,  for  her  aunt  Kate  Headen  Stafford 
DeKress,  for  a  widely  known  German  physician  and  scientist,  Oscar  DeKress 
Doctor  of  Medicine,  of  Evansville.  Ross,  for  the  former  editor  of  the  To 
ledo  Blade.  The  baby  of  the  family  was  named  for  her  Aunt  Anna.  It 
will  be  observed  that  the  boys  were  given  family  names  for  Christian  names. 
Of  these  children,  five  survive  in   1909. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  began  his  schooling  in  a  little  frame  school 
house  in  the  village  of  Elberfeld,  a  Dutch  village  in  Warrick  county,  seven- 
teen miles  from  Evansville  on  the  old  Straight  Line  road.  He  attended  school 
under  the  instruction  of  Lewis  Kemper,  Mary  Wagoner  and  D.  S.  Johnson. 
It  was  while  in  school  here  that  Mr.  Hooker  conceived  the  idea  that  he  wished 
to  be  a  teacher.  He  attended  every  teacher's  institute  that  was  held  in  the 
village  school.  They  furnished  him  renewed  inspiration.  When  he  was 
fourteen  years  old,  the  father  bought  and  moved  to  a  farm  near  Oakdam,  in 
Vanderburg  county.  Here,  owing  to  an  accident,  Brainard  lost  one  year's 
schooling.  The  father  had  a  limb  broken  and  the  oldest  boys  had  to  care 
for  the  stock.  He  attended  the  Oakdam  school  for  one  year  under  the  in- 
struction of  D.  S.  Johnson.  The  following  year  he  graduated  in  the  eighth 
grade  at  McCutchanville,  and  entered  the  high  school  at  the  same  place  in 
the  fall,  completing  the  course  offered  in  two  years.  Here  he  was  under  the 
tuition  of  a  highly  cultured  and  educated  aunt. 


666  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

In  February,  1886,  Mr.  Hooker  made  his  trial  license  under  Ernest  D. 
McAvoy,  the  county  superintendent,  and  in  April  he  secured  a  twehe-months 
license. 

J.  C.  Calvert,  the  trustee  of  Armstrong  township,  employed  Mr.  Hooker 
to  teach  No.  7  school,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  his  township.  Here  the 
chief  task  was  to  teach  German-speaking  children  to  speak  English.  The 
task  was  complicated,  for  Mr.  Hooker  had  learned  Plattdeutsch  at  Elberfeld, 
and  these  children  spoke  Hochdeutsch.  He  must  learn  the  High  German 
to  be  better  able  to  teach  English.  He  boarded  with  one  Nicholas  Wolf, 
who  took  a  delight  in  helping  the  young  pedagogue  to  the  use  of  German. 
The  year's  work  was  satisfactory  to  the  officials  and  the  young  teacher  was 
promised  a  larger,  better  school  and  one  nearer  his  home.  With  these  reflec- 
tions, he  began  his  professional  training  in  De  Pauw  University.  With 
one  term's  preparation  under  the  guidance  of  W.  H.  Mace  and  Arnold 
Tompkins,  the  year  following  was  more  successful.  The  years  1887  ^^^ 
1888  were  spent  at  Armstrong  Station  school.  The  fourth  year's  work  was 
done  at  Theil  school,  still  nearer  home.  The  young  teacher  had  now  done 
four  terms'  work  in  the  normal  department  at  DePauw  University  and  had 
had  four  years'  experience  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  county.  In 
the  fall  of  1890  he  followed  Arnold  Tompkins  to  the  Indiana  State  Normal 
School  (the  normal  department  at  DePauw  having  been  closed  by  order  of 
the  trustees),  and  from  this  school  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1893. 

On  the  17th  day  of  August,  1893,  Mr.  Hooker  was  married  to  Eva  A. 
McCutchan  at  her  father's  home  near  Oakdam.  Miss  McCutchan  was  the 
daughter  of  John  T.  and  Nancy  M.  (Covey)  McCutchan.  Mr.  McCutchan  is 
the  son  of  a  large  landholder,  Thomas  McCutchan,  who  came  to  America 
from  Ireland  in  the  early  days  of  Indiana's  history.  Mrs.  McCutchan  is  of 
French  descent,  through  the  Le  Count  family  on  her  mother's  side  of  the 
house.  Eva  Hooker  was  graduated  from  the  common  schools  in  her  native 
county,  Vanderburg,  and  was  for  a  time  a  student  at  Princeton  College.  She 
taught  school  three  years.  Mrs.  Hooker  is  a  vocalist  of  no  mean  attainments. 
Soon  after  the  wedding  the  bride  and  groom  went  to  Mt.  Vernon,  Indi- 
ana, to  live,  where  Mr.  Hooker  had  been  employed  in  the  high  school  as  one 
of  the  instructors.  Here  he  taught  for  two  years,  associated  with  E.  G. 
Bauman,  the  present  superintendent  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  schools,  and  Edwin 
S.  Monroe,  the  superintendent  of  the  Muskogee  schools,  Oklahoma.  W'hile 
living  here  their  daughter  Maurine  came  into  the  family. 

During  the  next  three  years  the  family  lived  at  Rochester,  Indiana, 
where  Mr.  Hooker  was  principal  of  the  high  school  and  head  of  the  depart- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  66/ 

ment  of  English.  Here  Helen,  the  second  girl,  was  born  and  Harold  Mace, 
the  first  boy.  The  next  move  was  to  Indiana  University,  where  Mr.  Hooker 
felt  the  need  of  additional  college  work.  After  completing  two  terms'  work, 
he  and  his  wife  and  daughter  Helen  were  taken  down  with  typhoid  fever, 
which  exhausted  the  strength  and  exchequer  of  the  family  so  completely  that 
the  pursuit  of  the  long-hoped-for  degree  was  abandoned. 

In  the  spring  of  1900  Mr.  Hooker  was  called  to  the  State  Normal  at 
Terre  Haute  to  teach  English  grammar  for  the  term,  under  the  direction  of 
J.  B.  Wisely,  author  of  a  well-known  book  on  that  subject.  While  at  the 
normal  he  was  appointed  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Dayton,  this  county, 
James  McDowell  being  the  trustee  at  the  time  of  the  appointment.  In  1901, 
Lucien  B.  O'Dell,  who  recently  died  at  Brazil,  and  who  was  then  superinten- 
dent of  the  Thorntown  schools,  called  Mr.  Hooker  to  assist  him  as  principal 
of  the  high  school.  At  the  close  of  the  year,  Mr.  Hooker  returned  to  Dayton 
at  an  increased  salary  and  the  promise  of  an  assistant  in  the  high  school.  With 
the  work  increased  to  four  years,  an  effort  was  made  to  commission  the 
school,  but  a  lack  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  officials  caused  the  proj- 
ect to  be  delayed  until  1909.  While  living  in  Dayton,  John  Gordon,  Mary 
and  Gilbert  Merrill  came  into  the  family. 

In  1906,  Superintendent  E.  W.  Lawrence  called  Mr.  Hooker  to  the 
principalship  of  the  West  Lafayette  high  school.  In  this  school  he  was 
assisted  by  L.  A.  Scipio,  now  of  Nebraska  University,  lone  Beem,  Viletta 
Baker  and  Daphne  Kieffer.  This  was  the  first  year  in  the  handsome  new 
high  school  building,  and  to  give  some  token  of  appreciation  the  school  gave 
an  art  exhibit,  the  proceeds  of  which,  amounting  to  nearly  a  hundred  dollars, 
was  put  into  fine  reproductions  of  famous  paintings  which  now  adorn  the 
walls  of  the  assembly  room. 

After  a  three-days  campaign,  at  10  o'clock,  June  4,  1907,  Mr.  Hooker 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  county  superintendent  for  a  term  of  four  years. 
Mr.  Hooker  is  one  of  the  men  in  the  field  of  public  school  work  who  think 
that  the  business  of  teaching  should  be  dignified  into  a  profession.  He  dis- 
likes the  spirit  that  has  dominated  the  business  especially  among  men  which 
makes  teaching  a  step  to  something  "better,"  and  he  has  labored  to  eradicate 
the  defect. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  Mr.  Hooker  became  a  member  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  at  Blue  Grass  and  he  and  his  wife  have  been  active 
members  of  the  churches  where  they  have  lived,  usually  singing  in  the  choir. 
Mrs.  Hooker  singing  soprano  and  Mr.  Hooker  tenor.  Soon  after  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old  he  became  a  member  of  Corypheus  Lodge   No.    180, 


668  PAST    AXD    PRESENT 

Knights  of  Pythias,  at  Cynthiana,  Posey  cmmty,  and  is  an  officer  of  Sheffield 
Lodge  No.  414,  at  Dayton.  At  the  age  of  forty  he  became  a  Freemason, 
belonging  to  Dayton  Lodge,  Xo.  103,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 


HARRY  ^LADISON  SNIDEMAN. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  enjoys  distinctive  prestige  in  a  profession 
which  requires  of  those  who  adopt  it  a  strong  mentality  and  painstaking 
preparation  together  with  a  natural  aptitude  for  its  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities in  order  to  achieve  success.  Many  enter  it  allured  by  promise  of  rapid 
advancement  and  early  distinction  only  to  fall  disheartened  by  the  wayside: 
others  under  favorable  auspices  pursue  it  for  a  brief  season  to  find  themselves 
crowded  aside  by  the  more  worthy  and  ambitious,  thus  affording  a  striking 
instance  of  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest ;  while  the  true  searcher  after 
legal  lore  and  the  ability  to  apply  his  knowledge  to  the  adjustment  of  human 
difficulties  and  mete  out  justice  to  offenders  is  the  one  who  perseveres  despite 
discouragement  until  reaching  the  goal,  which  is  accessible  only  to  the  com- 
petent and  deserving,  to  which  class  the  subject  of  this  review  belongs,  as  his 
continuous  advancement  and  present  high  standing  abundantly  attest. 

Harry  M.  Snideman  is  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  dates 
his  birth  from  September  20,  1871,  having  first  seen  the  light  of  day  on  the 
family  homestead  in  Wabash  township,  where  his  parents  settled  some  years 
before.  Samuel  Snideman,  the  subject's  father,  was  born  in  Montgomery 
county,  Ohio,  and  has  been  an  honored  resident  of  Tippecanoe  county  for 
many  years.  He  is  a  farmer  and  gardener  and,  despite  his  seventy-three  years, 
is  still  actively  engaged  in  those  vocations  on  his  beautiful  farm  and  attractive 
rural  home  one  mile  west  of  Purdue  University.  Sarah  Smith,  who  on  May 
10,  1859,  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Snideman,  is  a  native  of  Fayette  county, 
Indiana,  and  it  was  only  recently  that  this  venerable  and  highly  respected 
couple  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  their  married  life.  When  a  young 
man  Mr.  Snideman  learned  carpentry,  which  he  followed  until  about  thirty 
years  old,  when  he  discontinued  the  trade  to  become  a  tiller  of  the  soil.  His 
father,  David  Snrdeman.  was  born  in  Germany,  but  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years  came  to  the  United  States  and  grew  to  maturity  in  Ohio.  Later  he 
moved  to  Miami  county,  Indiana,  where  he  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  agri- 
culture, and  wh.ere  his  d.eath  finally  occurred,  after  he  had  reached  the  ripe  old 
age  of  ninety-one  years.     On  the  maternal  side  the  subject  traces  one  branch 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  669 

of  his  family  to  France,  but  his  ancestors  came  to  this  country  so  long  ago 
that  all  or  nearly  all  of  the  characteristics  of  that  nationality  have  disappeared 
during  the  intervening  years.  Samuel  and  Sarah  Snideman  are  the  parents 
of  three  children,  namely :  Oscar  M.,  electrical  engineer  employed  by  the  In- 
diana Lighting  Company,  of  Lafayette,  married  Harretta  Rosa,  and  to  tliis 
union  two  daughters  were  born,  May  and  Avanella;  William  O.,  a  carpenter 
and  farmer  living  two  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Lafayette,  married  Lutitia 
V.  Emerson,  to  which  union  four  children  were  born.  Bertha  Hope,  now 
deceased,  Robert  E.,  ]\Iary  Belle  and  Hobart;  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is 
the  third  in  order  of  birth  and  the  youngest  of  the  family. 

Harry  M.  Snideman  spent  his  early  years  amid  the  quiet  rural  scenes 
of  the  home  farm  and  was  reared  to  habits  of  industry  and  thrift  in  the  fields, 
attending  the  district  schools  of  Wabash  township  when  his  services  were 
not  otherwise  required.  He  continued  his  studies  until  finishing  the  common 
school  course,  receiving  a  certificate  of  graduation  from  the  Dayton  schools 
in  1891,  after  which  he  entered  Union  Business  College  in  Lafayette,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  the  year  1892.  Later,  in  1895,  he  became  a  student 
of  the  Northern  Lidiana  Normal  School  at  Valparaiso,  Indiana,  and  after  a 
year's  work  in  that  institution  began  teaching,  which  calling  he  followed  for  a 
period  of  five  years  in  the  schools  of  Wabash  township,  during  which  time  his 
spare  time  was  spent  in  reading  law.  Two  of  his  vacations  were  spent  in  the 
law  office  of  George  D.  Parks,  the  present  county  attorney,  under  whose  in- 
struction he  made  such  progress  as  to  enable  him  to  be  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  September,  1900. 

Mr.  Snideman  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Lafayette.  In 
August,  1902,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Charles  M.  Bright,  which  part- 
nership continued  until  December,  1904,  when  ]\Ir.  Bright  was  obliged  to 
change  climate  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  The  partnership  was  then  dis- 
sohi-ed,  I\Ir.  Snideman  purchasing  his  partner's  interest  and  has  since  continued 
the  practice  alone.  He  has  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  practice  and  gained 
an  honorable  reputation  as  an  able  and  energetic  lawyer.  He  has  also  been 
active  in  political  affairs,  both  local  and  general,  and  his  influence  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  Republican  party  has  given  him  prestige  and  leadership  such  as 
few  of  his  contemporaries  have  attained.  He  is  an  enthusiastic  politician,  a 
forcible  and  logical  speaker  and  his  services  on  the  hustings  are  always  in  great 
demand  during  campaign  years,  as  he  is  a  master  of  assemblages  and  never 
fails  to  interest  and  influence  his  auditors.  He  was  twice  a  candidate  before 
the  primaries  for  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney,  but  by  a  combination  of 
circumstances,  so  common  to  politics,  failed  both  times  to  receive  the  nom- 


6/0 


PAST    AND    PRESENT 


ination,  his  defeats,  however,  causing  no  cessation  of  his  interest  in  behalf  of 
the  more  fortunate  candidates. 

On  June  26,  1907,  Mr.  Snideman  was  united  in  marriage  to  Julia  Weber, 
of  Lafayette,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sophia  Weber.  Mrs.  Snideman  is  an 
intelligent  and  cultured  lady  of  excellent  character  and  high  social  standing, 
who  has  many  friends  in  the  city  and  enjoys  great  popularity  among  those 
with  whom  she  associates. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Snideman  is  a  member  of  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  22,  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  which  he  joined  on  January  14,  1898,  and 
since  his  membership  has  been  an  active  and  enthusiastic  member,  filling  all  the 
official  chairs  in  the  subordinate  lodge  and  in  1900  was  a  representative  of  his 
lodge  to  the  grand  lodge  of  Indiana,  of  which  body  he  is  also  a  member.  He 
is  also  a  trustee  of  his  lodge,  having  been  at  the  time  of  his  election  the  young- 
est man  to  be  honored  with  the  position.  In  matters  religious.  Mr.  Snide- 
man is  liberal  in  all  the  term  implies.  He  does  not  hold  membership  with 
any  church,  but  is  a  liberal  contributor  to  the  support  of  the  gospel  and  is  a 
friend  of  all  charitable  and  benevolent  enterprises  and  a  liberal  donor  to  hu- 
manitarian movements  of  whatever  name  or  order.  Mrs.  Snideman  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Triumph  Rebekah  Lodge,  No.  291,  of  which  lodge  she  is  an  enthusi- 
astic worker :  her  nature  is  deeply  religious  and  since  her  childhood  she  has 
been  identified  with  the  Salem  Reformed  church,  in  which  she  is  an  active 
worker. 


HARRY  EDWARD  TITUS,  D.  V.  S. 

To  be  anything  but  mediocre  in  any  profession  requires  not  only  a  happy 
combination  of  natural  faculties,  but  also  a  strong  personality,  a  blending  of 
courtesy  and  affability  and  certain  business  qualities  that  no  discouragements 
can  thwart.  The  well-known  veterinary  surgeon  whose  name  forms  the  cap- 
tion of  this  article,  and  whose  name  has  long  since  become  a  household  word 
throughout  Tippecanoe  county,  seems  to  possess  these  traits,  for  he  has 
climbed,  step  by  step,  from  a  modest  beginning  to  a  position  of  prominence  in 
his  community  through  no  outside  assistance. 

Harry  Edward  Titus  was  born  in  1876  at  Muscatine,  Iowa,  the  son  of 
Harrison  S.  Titus,  who  is  also  a  veterinarian.  The  latter  married  Catherine 
Walsh,  and  they  are  both  natives  of  Wisconsin,  and  people  who  command  the 
unequivocal  respect  of  all  who  know  them.  After  finishing  the  common- 
school  course,  young  Harry  attended  high  school,  later  took  a  course  in  the 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY.    IN  D.  67  I 

Iowa  State  College,  veterinary  department,  graduating  from  the  same  in  1898. 
having  made  a  most  commendable  record  and  well  equipping  himself  for  his 
profession.  He  has  been  greatly  aided  by  his  father,  who  is  a  very  skilled 
veterinary  surgeon,  consequently  it  is  not  strange  that  the  subject  should 
achieve  success  in  his  chosen  calling  while  yet  a  young  man.  Another  son 
of  Dr.  Harrison  S.  Titus  is  also  a  veterinary  surgeon  in  Baxter,  Iowa. 

A  criterion  of  Dr.  Harry  E.  Titus's  high  standing  in  this  profession  is 
furnished  by  the  fact  that  in  1899,  the  year  following  his  graduacion.  he  held 
the  responsible  position  in  the  Iowa  State  College  as  house  surgeon  and  dem- 
onstrator of  anatomy,  also  taught  the  principles  and  practice  of  operative 
surgery.  He  had  received  practical  experience  all  through  his  college  course, 
consequently  he  was  enabled  to  render  entire  satisfaction  in  this  work,  receiv- 
ing the  hearty  commendation  of  both  faculty  and  students. 

Early  in  1900  Doctor  Titus  was  appointed  government  inspector  in  the 
bureau  of  animal  industry  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  but  he  did  not  accept  the  place, 
believing  that  a  better  field  awaited  him  in  the  city  of  Lafayette,  whither  he 
came  May  30,  1900,  and  soon  thereafter  began  the  practice  of  his  profession. 
He  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  veterinary  infirmary  owned  by  Doctor 
Craig,  on  Main  street,  west  of  the  river.  Having  been  successful  in  this 
venture,  he  bought  out  Doctor  Craig's  interest  about  the  ist  of  July,  190 1, 
and  has  since  conducted  the  infirmary  in  his  own  name.  It  is  the  only  one 
of  its  kind  in  Tippecanoe  county  and  is  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  finest  in 
Indiana.  Doctor  Titus  is  constantly  improving  his  hospital  and  his  practice 
is  steadily  increasing. 

On  May  22,  1907,  Doctor  Titus  was  united  in  marriage  with  Margaret 
Littler,  a  native  of  Indiana,  but  who  was  residing  in  Chicago,  a  trained  nurse 
in  a  hospital,  when  they  were  married.  She  is  a  well  educated  woman  and  is 
of  great  assistance  to  the  Doctor  in  his  work. 

Doctor  Titus  was  city  veterinarian  in  Lafayette  for  two  years,  very 
creditably  filling  this  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American  Veterinary 
Association,  the  Indiana  Veterinary  Medical  Association,  and  an  honorary 
member  of  the  Iowa  Veterinary  Medical  Association.  On  July  11,  1905,  he 
was  appointed  delegate  to  represent  the  L'uited  States  at  the  eighth  Interna- 
tional Veterinary  Congress  held  at  Budapest,  Austria,  September  3,  1905. 
having  been  appointed  to  this  important  duty  by  the  state  department  at  Wash- 
ington. In  his  fraternal  relations  the  Doctor  belongs  to  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  also  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a  man  of  impos- 
ing personal  appearance,  quick  in  his  decisions,  alert,  friendly  and  obligino-, 
consequently  he  is  favorably  known  alx>ut  town. 


672  PAST    AND    PRESENT 


ALVA  O.  RESER. 


Hon.  Alva  O.  Reser,  ex-member  of  the  Indiana  state  legislature,  who 
is  the  present  efficient  county  recorder  and  official  court  reporter  and  stenog- 
rapher for  the  courts  of  Tippecanoe  county,  was  born  near  Stockwell,  Tippe- 
canoe county,  Indiana,  November  17,  1859,  a  son  of  Harvey  and  Sarah 
(Waymire)  Reser.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
county  and  at  Purdue  University,  Lafayette.  After  fully  qualifying  himself 
for  the  duties  of  an  educator  and  business  man,  he  followed  teaching  for  a 
time;  he  taught  in  the  district  schools  of  Wea  township,  this  county,  at 
Spring  Grove,  after  which  he  was  made  principal  of  the  Lafayette  Business 
College,  where  he  taught  one  year  and  then  became  the  principal  of  the 
Oakland  school  at  Lafayette,  which  position  he  held  with  much  credit  to 
himself  and  the  school  board  who  employed  him.  He  taught  in  this  city  school 
for  three  years.  He  was  also  made  instructor  in  stenography  in  the  Lafay- 
ette Business  College  and  held  this  position  for  fifteen  years. 

Politically,  Mr.  Reser  is  an  uncompromising  Republican  and  is  an  ef- 
fective, forcible  campaigner  in  this  section  of  Indiana.  He  represented  his 
county  in  the  Indiana  legislature  in  the  sessions  of  1899  and  1901.  in  the 
house  of  representatives,  and  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education 
during  his  last  term.  He  was  the  official  stenographer  for  the  United  States 
government  at  the  Anglo-American  Joint  High  Commission,  held  at  Quebec, 
Canada,  in  1898;  special  stenographer  for  Hon.  Charles  F.  Fairbanks,  then 
candidate  for  Vice-President,  in  the  campaign  of  1904,  and  for  the  news- 
paper press  of  the  country.  Being  an  expert  stenographer,  he  was  selected 
as  court  reporter,  and  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  court  officers  of  his  district, 
including  the  judges,  that  he  is  among  the  most  rapid  and  accurate  reporters 
within  the  state  of  Indiana.  He  was  elected  as  clerk  of  the  Lafayette  school 
board  in  1883,  serving  until  1909,  during  which  long  period  he  has  kept  the 
books  of  that  body  in  a  model  manner  and  has  always  been  deeply  interested 
in  the  educational  interests  and  favored  all  needed  improvements  in  the 
management  of  the  school  system  of  his  city.  He  was  elected  county 
recorder  of  Tippecanoe  county  in  November,  1906,  taking  his  office  January 
I,  1907,  to  serve  until  January  i,  191 1.  In  this  special  role,  the  methods 
and  order  with  which  he  has  managed  other  public  affairs  is  also  manifest — 
his  offices  and  books  are  all  neatly  arranged  and  properly  cared  for  by  him- 
self and  a  highly  competent  corps  of  assistants,  in  whom  the  public  have  the 
utmost  confidence. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  673 

Mr.  Reser  has  been  very  active  in  campaign  wrork  in  his  party 
and  delivered  speeches  and  fairly  presented  the  issues  before  the  voters  of  his 
county  from  time  to  time;  also  delivered  popular  lectures  now  and  then. 
He  is  a  true  commoner  and,  by  reason  of  his  nativity  and  public  life,  has 
become  acquainted  with  every  nook  and  corner  within  Tippecanoe  county, 
as  well  as  being  personally  acquainted  with  nearly  all  of  the  people  within 
its  borders.  He  was  naturally  selected  as  the  secretary  of  the  Tippecanoe 
^Monument  Association,  which  organization  was  active  in  forwarding  the 
project  that  finally  resulted  in  the  erecting  of  the  handsome  monument  to 
the  memory  of  the  heroes  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  famous  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe. He  also  compiled  the  report  of  the  Alonument  Commission,  which 
was  published  and  handsomely  bound  in  book  form  under  authority  of  the 
state.  This  book  is  a  collection  of  the  various  reports  and  orations  delivered 
at  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  in  1908.  No  better  man  could  have  been 
chosen  to  do  this  work,  because  of  his  interest  in  the  project  and  his  historical 
information,  having  made  this  subject  a  special  study  for  many  years.  In 
civic  society  affairs,  Mr.  Reser  is  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias; 
also  belongs  to  the  Greek  letter  college  fraternity,  Sigma  Chi. 

Of  Mr.  Reser's  domestic  relations,  let  it  be  said  that  he  was  happily 
united  in  marriage  to  Elizabeth  A.  Smith,  August  13,  1885.  By  this  union 
two  sons  were  born  (twins),  Roy  M.  and  Ralph  D.  Reser,  born  October  27, 
1888.  In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Reser  is  a  man  of  strong  athletic  build, 
loving  out-door  sports  as  one  of  nature's  noblemen.  His  hair  is  somewhat 
gray,  slightly  bald,  a  pleasing  twinkle  to  his  eyes,  smooth  face  and  possesses 
an  affable  disposition.  He  loves  his  fellow-men  and  remembers  names,  places 
and  faces  to  a  remarkable  degree.  He  is  methodical  and  accurate  and  a  good 
reader  of  human  nature,  eminent  in  many  lines  of  life  and  education.  In  his 
penmanship  he  is  a  beautiful  writer,  having  taught  both  ornamental  and 
business  penmanship  in  the  Lafayette  Business  College. 


DR.  JOHN  COLBERT  WEBSTER. 

.Among  the  older  physicians  of  Lafayette,  Indiana,  none  is  better  kmuvn 
nor  has  a  wider  acquaintance  throughout  western  Indiana  and  Tippecanoe 
county  than  Dr.  John  C.  Webster.  He  was  born  in  the  village  of  Romney, 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  on  September  29,  1841,  and  is  a  son  of  Elijah 
and  Xancv  (  Stewart)  Webster,  \^'illiam  Webster,  the  grandfather,  migrated 
'(43) 


674  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

from  Canada  to  near  Rumney  in  1825  and  entered  government  land.  He 
married  a  native  Canadian  and  was  the  father  of  the  following  children  : 
Elijah,  William,  Mary,  Sarah,  Phcebe  and  Rachel.  The  family,  with  the 
exception  of  Mary,  went  with  their  parents  to  Tippecanoe  county  where  they 
lived  many  years,  the  father  passing  away  on  the  old  homestead.  He  was 
noted  as  a  man  prominent  in  state  affairs  and  for  his  unbending  religious 
views,  being  a  Quaker  and  strict  in  all  his  ways.  Elijah  married  Xancy 
Stewart,  and  to  them  fi\e  children  were  born:  ]\Iary  A.,  wife  of  W^illiam 
Ross :  John  C. ;  Margaret,  who  married  George  Oglesby :  Anna,  who  married 
Edward  W.  Throckmorton :  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  childhood. 

John  C.  Webster  was  reared  upon  his  father's  farm  and  attended  the 
district  school  and  also  Sugar  Grove  Institute,  which  was  an  institution 
similar  to  our  present  high  school.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  he 
enlisted,  on  October  15.  1861.  in  Company  G.  Fortieth  Regiment.  Indiana 
Volunteer  Infantry,  which  was  a  veteran  organization,  and  was  mustered 
into  the  services  of  the  United  States  for  three  years  at  Lafayette.  Indiana, 
on  December  10,  1861,  as  a  sergeant,  and  in  the  course  of  time  was  finally 
commissioned  a  second  lieutenant,  his  commission  bearing  the  date  of  May 
I,  1863.  He  was  mustered  out  of  service  as  a  lieutenant  in  1864.  Mr. 
Webster  took  part  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Shiloh.  and  after  being  away  on  a 
sick  leave  he  rejoined  his  regiment  at  Tullahoma.  Tennessee,  and  accompanied 
it  to  Louisville.  Kentucky,  where  the  command  under  General  Buell  was 
pursuing  General  Bragg's  forces.  He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Perryville 
on  October  8th,  and  after  his  return  to  Nashville  he  participated  in  the  ad- 
vance on  Murfreesboro,  Stone  River,  Lavergne  and  other  battles.  After 
Murfreesboro  he  remained  with  his  regiment  until  January.  1863.  when,  on 
the  reorganization  of  the  army,  the  Fortieth  was  assigned  to  the  First  Divi- 
sion, Twenty-first  Army  Corps.  The  regiment  took  part  in  many 
notable  campaigns,  including  service  in  the  Tullahoma  advances,  also  at 
Liberty  Gap  and  on  post  duty  at  Chattanooga.  Tennessee.  Mr.  Webster  also 
saw  service  at  Orchard  Knob  and  during  the  siege  of  Chattanooga  and  again 
at  Missionary  Ridge,  where  his  regiment  took  an  active  part.  It  was  in  this 
engagement  that  he  receivetl  a  wound  in  the  head  while  leading  his  men  in 
the  charge  of  Mission  Ridge.  This  wound  incapacitated  him  from  active 
dutv  for  a  time.  He  recovered  and  started  to  rejoin  his  command,  then  in 
eastern  Tennessee,  when  it  was  attacked  by  a  force  of  cavalry  under  General 
Wheeler.  \\'hile  in  camp  Mr.  Webster  was  seized  with  a  severe  case  of 
ervsipekis  and  ordered  back  to  Chattanooga  by  the  surgeons  in  charge.     In 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  675 

1864  he  re-enlisted  with  his  regiment,  as  a  veteran,  and  then  returned  home 
on  a  furlough.  When  his  command  moved  to  the  south  he  accompanied 
it  and  saw  some  lively  serxice.  The  regiment  was  stationed  at  Cleveland, 
Tennessee,  when  the  Atlanta  campaign  opened.  The  Fortieth  Regiment  was 
assigned  to  the  Second  Brigade,  Second  Division.  Fourth  Army  Corps,  and 
was  also  continuously  engaged  during  that  memorable  campaign,  being  active 
at  Tunnel  Hill,  Buzzard  Roost,  Liberty  Gap,  Rockyface  Ridge,  Resaca, 
Adairsville,  Cassville  and  other  engagements  around  Dallas,  New  Hope 
Church,  Pumpkinville  Creek  and  Altoona  Hills.  Also  at  Picketts  and  in  opera- 
tions about  Marietta  and  against  Kenesaw  Mountain,  June  9th  to  27th,  includ- 
ing the  fights  at  Pine  Hill,  Lost  Mountain,  Muddy  Creek,  Pine  Knob,  and  the 
asasult  on  Kenesaw  Mountain  on  June  27th.  Here  Lieutenant  Webster  was 
wounded  in  both  legs,  and  this  was  the  last  fight  in  which  he  participated.  The 
battle  was  a  desperate  affair  and  his  command  was  exposed  to  a  galling  fire, 
both  front  and  flank,  and  fully  forty-six  per  cent,  of  his  command  was  lost. 
Lieutenant  Webster,  though  seriously  wounded  and  lying  on  the  field  unattend- 
ed, knew  that  if  he  was  taken  prisoner  he  would  be  neglected  and  probably  die, 
and  he  determined  to  escape  if  possible.  He  managed  to  get  upon  his  feet 
and  was  at  once  made  a  target  for  the  enemy's  bullets.  One  bail  ripped  his 
coat  across  the  shoulders  and  others  pierced  his  clothing  otherwise,  but  he 
managed  to  get  away  without  further  injury.  He  was  ill  from  his  wounds 
until  October,  1864,  when  he  was  mustered  out  on  account  of  disability. 

Upon  his  return  home  the  subject  began  the  study  of  medicine  and  was 
graduated  from  the  Rush  Medical  College  of  Chicago  in  1870,  and  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Romney,  Tippecanoe  county,  where  he  met  with 
marked  success.  In  1880  he  removed  to  Lafayette  w^here  he  has  continued 
his  practice.  Doctor  Webster  has  been  recognized  as  a  physician  of  ability 
and  he  has  served  on  the  state  board  of  medical  registration  and  examination 
since  1897.  He  has  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  pension  board,  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  Loyal  Legion,  and 
always  taken  a  deep  and  abiding  interest  in  his  old  comrades  in  arms. 

Doctor  Webster  was  married  to  Sallie  MacMechan  Jones  June  15,  1876. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Stephen  Jones,  who  was  a  graduate  of  the  medical 
school  of  Harvard  College.  Doctor  Jones  removed  West  and  started  to 
practice  medicine,  but  not  liking  the  practice  entered  business  and  w^as  noted 
as  a  financier.  His  daughter  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  was  also 
a  student  in  an  Indianapolis  institution.  To  Doctor  Webster  and  wife  was 
born  one  daughter,  Mary  E.,  in  1887. 


676  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Fraternally,  Dr.  John  \\'ebster  is  a  Mason  and  has  attained  the  degree  of 
Knight  Templar.  In  politics  he  is  an  ardent  Republican  and  has  twice  been 
elected  trustee  of  Randolph  township,  Tippecanoe  county.  He  is  known  as  a 
kind,  warm-hearted  man  and  an  honored  citizen  of  the  county  and  city  in 
which  he  lives. 


FREDERICK  HENRY  ERB,  JR. 

When  Napoleon  was  carrying  on  his  destructive  and  spectacular  wars, 
there  was  a  young  Frenchman  in  the  ranks  by  the  name  of  Frederick  Henry 
Erb,  who  served  as  a  sharpshooter,  both  in  Europe  and  Africa.  When  peace 
followed  the  overthrow  of  the  great  commander,  Erb  emigrated  to  America, 
where  he  became  both  the  pioneer  and  champion  in  the  new  art  of  pigeon 
shooting.  He  arranged  a  match  with  William  King,  the  English  champion, 
ofifering  the  latter  a  bonus  to  come  over  and  contest  honors  with  him.  The 
stakes  were  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  a  side,  and  Erb  won.  In  a 
great  match  in  Tippecanoe  county,  at  the  old  homestead  of  John  Opp,  Erb 
shot  with  Jack  Taylor,  of  New  Jersey,  for  one  thousand  dollars  a  side  and 
would  have  won  but  for  the  breaking  of  his  gun  which  compelled  him.  to  use 
a  strange  weapon  which  caused  his  defeat.  Full  five  thousand  spectators 
witnessed  this  match.  He  was  greatly  interested  in  horse  racing,  and  built  the 
first  track  for  this  purpose  in  Tippecanoe  county  on  the  old  Doyle  farm. 
While  the  Union  Pacific  railroad  was  being  built  he  engaged  in  supplying 
constructors  with  game  for  food.  When  he  died  in  April,  1905,  he  was  esti- 
mated to  have  been  one  hundred  and  six  years  old.  He  married  a  French 
lady  named  Mary  Roller,  who  was  brought  to  Lafayette  by  her  father,  who 
was  also  a  remarkable  sample  of  longevity,  it  being  calculated  that  when  he 
died  in  1864  he  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  old. 

Frederick  Henry  Erb,  Jr.,  son  of  this  French  couple,  was  born  at  Lafay- 
ette, Indiana,  August  16,  1856,  and  inherited  the  genius  of  his  father  for 
sports  and  marksmanship.  When  only  eight  years  old  he  was  sent  to  Lex- 
ington, Kentucky,  as  a  rider  of  running  horses.  He  became  famous  as  a 
jockey  and  before  he  was  eighteen  years  old  had  bestrode  many  celebrities 
of  the  turf,  including  such  winners  as  Rambler,  Prairie  Boy,  Silver  Tail,  Bull 
of  the  Woods  and  Gypsy.  His  talent  for  marksmanship  gave  him  even 
greater  fame  than  that  achieved  as  the  successful  rider  of  thoroughbreds.  So 
early  as  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  regarded  as  a  phenomenon  with  a  gun  and 
while  riding  the  circuit  of  running  horses  his  father  often  backed  him  in  live 
pigeon  matches  in  which  he  scored  signal  victories.     He  challenged  the  re- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  677 

doubtable  Captain  Bogardus,  in  March,  1880,  at  that  time  the  champion  all- 
around  shot  of  the  world.  The  match  came  off  at  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  and 
attracted  national  attention  in  sporting  circles.  Bogardus  killed  eighty-three 
birds  to  Erb's  ninety-three,  the  latter  being  given  the  benefit  of  two  yards, 
or  twenty-eight  to  Bogardus'  thirty.  They  met  again  at  Lafayette  on  Jan- 
uary 14,  1888,  when  Bogardus  retired  after  shooting  ninetj'-three,  with  seven 
dead  birds  out  of  bounds.  Erb  lost  six  dead  out  of  bounds,  and  the  nineteenth 
bird  flew  away  hard  hit.  He  killed  his  last  sixty-four  straight,  which  caused 
Captain  Bogardus  to  give  him  credit  for  making  the  best  run  ever  made  by 
any  man  in  the  world.  He  declared  enthusiastically  that  his  rival  was  the  best 
shot  he  ever  saw.  April  7,  1888,  Mr.  Erb  gave  more  remarkable  evidence  of 
his  skill  in  a  three-days  shoot  at  flying  targets,  sixteen  yards  rise,  he  standing 
eighteen  yards  from  the  traps.  He  hit  the  first  hundred  straight,  and  ninety-six 
out  of  the  second  hundred.  Next  day  he  scored  ninety-seven  and  ninety-nine, 
the  third  day  ninety-eight  out  of  one  hundred,  or  four  hundred  and  ninety  out 
of  a  possible  five  hundred  in  three  days.  May  28,  1881,  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
in  a  match  with  Capt.  W.  T.  Mitchell  with  wild  pigeons,  five  ground  traps, 
thirty  yards  rise,  Erb  killed  ninety-three  to  Mitchell's  eighty-five.  June  20, 
1885.  at  an  exhibition  witnessed  by  ten  thousand  spectators.  Mr.  Erb  broke 
forty-eight  balls  out  of  fifty  thrown  into  the  air,  using  a  Colt's  lightning  rifle. 
He  also  did  a  lot  of  fancy  shooting,  hitting  various  kinds  of  small  coins  and 
performing  every  imaginable  feat  possible  to  a  rifle.  He  then  stepped  up  to 
the  score  to  break  ninety-six  clay  piegons  out  of  one  hundred,  of  which  he 
broke  one  hundred  straight,  using  only  one  barrel  of  a  Colt's  twelve-bore. 
He  has  taught  marksmanship  to  many  prominent  men,  doctors,  lawyers  and 
statesmen,  coming  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  to  get  the  benefit  of 
his  instruction. 

Mr.  Erb  also  enjoys  a  national  reputation  as  a  trainer  of  hunting  dogs. 
He  has  autograph  letters  from  President  Roosevelt,  Secretary  Cortelyou.  Buf- 
falo Bill,  and  many  others  expressing  appreciation  for  the  training  he  had 
given  their  dogs.  He  has  trained  dogs  for  Presidents  Cleveland  and  Harrison 
and  most  of  the  celebrated  sporting  men  of  the  country.  His  ideas  on  this 
subject  are  strictly  his  own,  reached  as  the  result  of  many  years  of  close  ob- 
servation and  experience,  all  his  methods  being  based  upon  kindly  and  humane 
considerations.  He  has  patented  a  very  successful  device  to  be  used  in  teach- 
ing dogs  to  retrieve  from  land  or  water,  and  be  obedient  in  the  field.  He 
challenges  the  world  to  equal  this  ingenious  device.  He  has  also  been  the 
patentee  of  several  sporting  devices  which  have  met  with  favor  and  success, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  feather  artificial  target,  which  was  sold  to 


678  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

English  capitalists  where  it  was  manufactured.  Another  well  known  article 
throughout  the  country  patented  by  him  is  the  Erb  dog  collar,  which  has  ac- 
quired an  extensive  manufacture  and  sale.  Mr.  Erb  is  the  author  of  a  book 
entitled,  "How  to  Train  Dogs  and  Cats;  Hints  on  Shooting  and  Hunting 
Game."  This  book  is  wonderfully  clear  and  concise  and,  being  the  result  of 
both  inherited  talent  and  years  of  experience,  is  of  great  value.  Perhaps, 
however,  Mr.  Erb  will  longest  be  remembered  as  the  inventor  of  the  famous 
"Erb,  Jr.,  Dog  and  Cat  Food."  Its  preparation  was  a  secret  for  twenty-five 
years,  the  ingredients  being  selected  as  the  result  of  observing  animals  in  the 
natural  state,  seeking  the  medicines  suitable  for  their  ailments.  The  animal 
will  eat  it  of  its  own  accord,  and  it  is  so  clean  that  even  human  beings  need 
not  hesitate  to  use  it.  It  was  made  public  in  January,  1906,  and  the  public 
are  invited  to  visit  his  factory  and  observe  the  processes  of  its  preparation. 
"Field  and  Fancy,"  the  leading  dog  paper  of  the  world,  gives  the  food  high 
praise,  and  Bart  T.  Ruddle,  manager  of  pet  animal  shows,  conducted  by  the 
Wisconsin  Humane  Society,  and  many  others  find  the  Erb  food  unexcelled  for 
pet  stock.  In  1909  Mr.  Erb  gave  up  training  dogs  to  build  a  factory  in  West 
Lafayette  for  the  manufacture  of  this  food. 

Mr.  Erb  married  Adelaide,  daughter  of  Eugene  Schaufert,  of  St.  Joseph, 
Missouri,  who  was  a  native  of  Germany,  and  said  to  have  built  the  first 
vinegar  factory  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Erb's  only  living 
son  enjoys  the  title  of  Fred  Erb  III.  He  is  interested  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
especially  the  raising  of  fine  stock.  He  married  Jennie,  daughter  of  John 
Saxe,  an  old-time  canal  boat  trader,  who  accumulated  a  considerable  fortune 
in  that  line  before  the  days  of  railroads.  Fred  Erb  III  and  his  wife  are  the 
parents  of  a  son,  who  bears  the  title  of  Fred  Erb  IV. 


TAMES  B.  SHAW. 


The  well-known  justice  of  the  peace  at  Lafayette.  Indiana,  whose  name 
introduces  this  biographical  memoir  is  a  descendant  of  good  old  Scotch-Irish 
stock,  his  ancestors  having  been  prominent  in  the  New  England  states 
during  the  colonial  days,  his  grandfather  and  great-grandfather  having 
fought  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  father,  William  H.  Shaw,  was  born 
in  Gorham,  Maine,  September  i,  181 1.  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Cornelia  Mudge,  was  born  in  Wayne  county.  New  York,  September  13, 
1821.     Her  mother's  uncle,  General  Tellison,  was  on  the  staff  of  the  great 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  6/9 

Washington  during  the  Revohitionary  war.  His  father's  brothers  were 
sailors  and  her  father  w  as  a  merchant  during  most  of  his  life.  To  the  parents 
of  James  B.  Shaw  six  children  were  born,  four  boys  and  two  girls,  James 
B.,  the  oldest.  Mrs.  Jessie  G.  Solomon,  the  youngest,  who  is  living  at 
Elgin,  Illinois,  the  wife  of  Moses  Solomon,  was  born  December  13,  1856, 
and  she  was  married  in  1882 ;  no  children  have  been  born  to  them.  She 
and  the  subject  of  this  re\'iew  are  the  only  living  members  of  the  family 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  William  H.  Shaw.  Frank  Shaw,  who  was  born  August 
5,  1853,  married  Jennie  Kauffman  in  1875,  in  Remington,  Jasper  county, 
Indiana,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  one  child,  a  son  named  R.  W. 
Shaw,  who  lives  in  Chicago. 

James  B.  Shaw  was  born  May  28,  1842,  in  Delphi.  Carroll  county, 
Indiana,  in  which  place  he  began  his  early  education,  studying  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  until  1858  when  he  entered  Wabash  College  at  Crawfordsville 
where  he  prosecuted  his  studies  until  1861  when  the  war  between  the  states 
began,  which  prompted  him  to  leave  his  studies  and  his  home  and  enlist 
on  September  6,  1861,  as  a  private  in  Company  D,  Tenth  Regiment  Indiana 
Volunteer  Infanty,  under  Col.  Mahlon  D.  Manson  of  Crawfordsville,  and 
Capt.  Joseph  F.  Taylor  of  Benton  county.  On  July  16,  1862,  he  was  pro- 
moted to  hospital  steward,  faithfully  serving  as  such  until  mustered  out 
September  16,  1864.  He  was  present  at  some  famous  engagements  while 
under  Sherman  in  the  Atlanta  campaign  and  on  the  march  to  the  sea,  in- 
cluding Chickamauga,  Corinth,  Perryville.  Tullahoma,  Missionary  Ridge, 
Buzzard  Roost,  Resaca,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta,  seeing  one  hundred 
and  twenty  days  of  continuous  fighting  on  the  Atlanta  campaign  alone.  He 
returned  to  Remington.  Indiana,  then  went  to  Watseka,  Illinois,  where  he 
entered  the  telegraphic  service  on  the  Toledo,  Peoria  &  Warsaw  Railroad, 
later  the  Pittsburg,  Chicago  &  St.  Louis,  also  the  Chicago  &  Eastern  Illi- 
nois and  the  Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railroad,  faithfully  serving  these  various 
roads  in  a  most  acceptable  manner  for  a  period  of  twenty-one  years.  In 
1886  Mr.  Shaw  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  and  so  faithfully  and  well 
has  he  performed  the  duties  of  the  office  that  he  has  been  retained  up  to 
the  present  time.  During  his  long  term  of  twenty-three  years  he  has  shown 
that  he  is  an  able,  impartial  and  judicious  exponent  of  the  law  and  few  of 
his  decisions  have  met  with  reversal  at  the  hands  of  a  higher  tribunal.  He 
has  been  a  loyal  Republican  all  his  life,  having  first  cast  his  vote  for 
President  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1864.  He  was  reared  in  the  Presbyterian 
faith,  to  which  his  parents  were  strict  adherents.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Amiy  of  the  Republic,  Post  No.  475,  and  the  L'nion  \'eteran  Legion. 


68o  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Camp  No.  122.  He  is  also  a  ^lason.  belonging  to  the  lodge  at  Kentland. 
Indiana.  But  in  all  these  he  perhaps  takes  the  greatest  interest  in  the  Grand 
Army,  having  first  joined  the  Lafayette  Post.  No.  3,  on  December  2.  1879. 
having  filled  all  the  offices  in  the  same,  having  in  1894  been  elected  senior 
vice  commander  of  the  Department  of  Indiana.  He  is  past  colonel  of  En- 
campment No.  122,  Union  Veteran  Legion.  He  probably  knows  more  sol- 
diers than  any  man  in  the  state,  and  he  is  familiar  with  the  history  of  every 
regiment  and  battery  organized  in  the  state.  He  and  Comrade  Aiken  in 
1883  first  began  to  place  flags  on  the  graves  of  twenty-eight  Confederate 
soldiers  at  Greenbnsh  cemetery,  and  on  the  graves  of  twenty-two  Union 
men  there,  and  they  have  continued  this  practice  ever  since,  not  missing  a 
single  Decoration  day.  He  receives  a  pension,  and  he  has  a  very  comfortable 
home  at  1006  Elliott  avenue.  Lafayette. 

Mr.  Shaw  is  a  well  preserved  man  considering  his  past  life  of  mingled 
hardship  and  toil,  being  stoutly  built.  He  has  decided  tastes  and  senti- 
ments, is  thoroughly  patriotic  and  he  is  well  fitted  for  the  work  of  justice 
of  the  peace,  being  a  man  of  force,  yet  companionable  and  a  very  interest- 
ing talker,  having  a  good  memory. 


URBAN  A.  LYLE.  M.  D. 

Dr.  Urban  A.  Lyle,  who  is  one  of  the  younger  representatives  of  the 
medical  profession  practicing  in  the  city  of  Lafayette,  was  born  January  28. 
1878,  at  Salem.  Ohio.  His  parents  were  Thomas  and  Lucy  M.  (Mamyum) 
Lyle.  The  father  was  born  in  England,  of  English  parents,  and  the  mother 
was  born  in  ^Memphis.  Tennessee,  and  was  descended  from  an  old  southern 
family  of  much  respectability.  Her  father  was  a  prominent  planter  and  before 
the  war  a  slaveholder.  In  the  Civil  war  days,  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee 
used  to  make  his  headquarters,  whenever  convenient,  at  her  fathers  house. 
Her  father  and  her  two  brothers  were  in  the  Confederate  army,  the  father 
dying  while  in  the  service  and  one  son  died  of  yellow  fever. 

Thomas  Lyle  was  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon.  At  one  time  he 
was  an  instructor  in  a  college  at  Toronto,  Canada.  Subsequently  he  grad- 
uated from  the  Toronto  School  of  Medicine  and  practiced  medicine  in  that 
Canadian  city  for  a  time.  After  coming  to  the  United  States,  he  studied  and 
graduated  in  theology,  becoming  pastor  of  the  Disciples  church  at  Salem, 
Ohio.     During  his  pastorate  there,  he  was  instrumental  in  building  a  church 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  68 1 

edifice.  He  also  practiced  medicine  at  the  same  time  lie  was  serving  as  pas- 
tor. Later  he  graduated  from  the  Physio-Medical  College  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  after  which  he  devoted  his  time  to  medicine  alone.  He  is  still  prac- 
ticing medicine  at  Salem,  Ohio,  where  he  is  regarded  as  an  excellent  and 
highly  trustworthy  physician.  He  was  appointed  professor  of  materia  medica 
in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Chicago.  He  was  the  father 
of  four  children:  James  M.,  Charles  H.,  Eugene  G.,  and  Urban  A.,  of 
this  memoir. 

The  Doctor  attended  the  high  school  at  Salem,  Ohio,  and  having  chosen 
the  profession  followed  by  his  father,  he  entered  upon  a  course  of  medicine 
at  the  Physio-Medical  College  at  Indianapolis,  graduating  in  1903.  In  1904, 
he  graduated  at  the  Electro-Therapeutic  College  of  Lima,  Ohio.  He  then 
located  in  practice  at  Lafayette  where  he  is  gaining  a  lucrative  and  highly 
successful  practice  among  good  families  of  the  city.  He  has  the  advantage 
of  being  thoroughly  posted  in  the  latest,  up-to-date  methods  of  combatting 
diseases.  His  office  is  among  the  best  equipped  in  Lafayette,  and  includes 
an  X-ray  machine  and  other  electrical  apparatuses.  In  medical  societies,  he 
is  counted  among  the  membership  of  the  Tippecanoe  County  Medical  Society 
and  the  American  Medical  Association.  At  present  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Lafayette  board  of  health. 

Politically,  he  of  whom  this  sketch  is  written  is  a  believer  in  the  prin- 
ciples as  shown  in  the  platform  of  the  Republican  party,  of  which  body  he  is 
an  active,  intelligent  member.  In  civic  society  matters,  the  Doctor  affiliates 
with  the  Masonic  fraternity;  the  Eagles,  Modern  Woodmen,  Moose  and 
Knights  of  Pythias  orders,  belonging  to  the  regimental  staff  of  the  last  named 
fraternity. 

Doctor  Lyle  married,  September  14,  1902,  Estella  M.  Turney,  daughter 
of  Dr.  S.  R.  Turney,  of  Brownstown,  Illinois.  Mrs.  Lyle  is  an  accomplished 
musician — one  of  a  high  order — having  graduated  in  music  at  the  Paso 
Conservatory  of  Music,  Lebanon.  Illinois,  and  the  School  of  Music  at  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  besides  the  Metropolitan  School  of  Music  at  Indianapolis. 


PARKER  A.  BYERS. 

Everybody  in  Lafayette  and  thousands  from  other  parts  of  the  country 
have  long  known  Parker  A.  Byers,  and  it  would  be  safe  to  sa)-  tint  all  wlin 
know  him  entertain  for  him  a  feeling  of  admiration  akin  to  love.     The  reason 


6S2  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

for  this  is  his  gentle  manners,  his  genial  address  and  accommodating  dispo- 
sition, united  with  a  bright  mind  and  rare  talents  as  a  conversationalist.  For 
more  than  tliirty  years  his  place  of  business  in  the  "Star  City"  has  been  head- 
quarters for  all  the  choice  spirits.  Few  visitors  coming  to  Lafayette  fail  to 
call  and  see  Parker.  Tliere  they  meet  otliers,  and  it  is  a  rare  evening  that  -n 
intelligent  and  fun-loving  crowd  can  not  be  found  in  the  hospitable  halls  of 
Mr.  Byers.  He  is  a  native  of  Indiana  and  a  fine  sample  of  the  Hoosier  at 
his  best.  A  son  of  Stephen  A.  and  Mary  (Brookbank)  Byers,  he  was  born 
at  Delphi,  Indiana,  in  1852,  and  spent  a  happy  boyhood  in  the  "old  swimmin' 
holes,"  the  green  pastures  and  other  boyish  resorts  in  and  around  the  capital 
of  Carroll  county.  Of  course  he  attended  school  between  times  and  there  is 
a  tradition  that  in  all  sports  of  an  innocent  nature,  all  athletic  games  and 
invigorating  pastimes  young  Byers  could  ever  be  found  as  a  leader.  In  1868, 
when  about  sixteen  years  old,  he  located  at  Lafayette  and  for  the  next  four 
years  had  charge  of  Comstock's  billiard  hall.  He  became  an  expert  at  the 
game,  was  gradually  recognized  as  a  professional  and  before  he  was  hardly 
of  age  had  a  national  reputation  as  a  billiard  player.  He  it  was  who  played 
the  first  match  game  at  Indianapolis  in  1873.  with  the  celebrated  Schafer.  the 
occasion  being  one  of  vast  interest  to  billiardists  and  heralded  in  sporting  cir- 
cles all  over  the  country.  When  twenty  years  old,  which  was  in  1872,  Mr. 
Byers  went  into  business  for  himself  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Columbia 
streets,  moving  later  to  the  Bramble  House,  where  he  remained  until  1877, 
when  he  located  permanently  on  Fourth  street.  For  thirty-two  years  he  has 
occupied  this  place,  making  it  the  most  popular  resort  of  the  kind  in  Lafay- 
ette. Mr.  Byers"  literary  tastes  suggested  the  establishment  of  a  reading 
room,  which  for  years  has  been  a  favorite  meeting  place  for  those  desiring  to 
consult  the  daily  papers  or  latest  magazines.  There  is  also  a  library  of  well 
selected  books,  and  the  rooms  are  made  inviting  in  every  respect.  He  is 
president  of  the  Merchants'  Electric  Lighting  Association. 

In  1874,  Mr.  Byers  married  Sarah  J.  Shaffer,  of  Lafayette,  and  his  home 
is  the  abode  of  hospitality  and  kindly  greeting  to  all  who  call.  ^Mr.  Byers 
may  properly  lay  claim  to  the  title  "perfect  gentleman,"  being  indeed  one  of 
nature's  noblemen.  In  personal  appearance  he  is  tall  and  well  built,  with  dark 
eyes,  pleasant  manner,  always  cheerful,  and  possessed  of  a  fine  sense  of  humor 
that  makes  him  a  charming  companion.  He  is  a  man  of  high  character,  kind 
and  honorable  in  his  dealings,  generous,  sociable  and  well  informed.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  and 
practically  counts  his  friends  by  the  number  of  his  acquaintances  at  home  or 
abroad,  as  "none  know  him  but  to  love  him.  none  name  him  but  to  praise." 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  683 


ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  CROUSE. 

The  founc'er  of  this  well-known  Tippecanoe  county  family  was  of  Ger- 
man origin.  George  Grouse  came  across  the  Atlantic  long  before  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  and  settled  in  Gumberland  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  left  a  son 
named  Henry,  who  was  born  July  6,  1768,  and  married  a  Miss  Hevison, 
whose  birth  date  is  recorded  as  February  15,  1766.  The  date  of  the  births  of 
their  children  are  thus  given  in  the  old  family  Bible :  Catherine,  May  20, 
1792;  Leah,  March  6,  1794;  Henry,  August  i,  1796;  Maria,  July  15,  1798; 
Simon,  July  25,  1802;  John,  April  15,  1805;  David,  September  18,  1808; 
Elizabeth,  October  15,  1810;  Daniel,  November  20,  1814.  About  1820,  the 
father  of  this  family  removed  to  Germantown,  Ohio,  and  cleared  a  farm  in 
that  locality.  In  1830  he  settled  in  Marion  county,  Indiana,  where  he  pur-' 
chased  and  cleared  a  section  of  land,  including  the  site  afterward  selected 
for  the  Indiana  Asylum  for  the  Insane,  west  of  Indianapolis.  He  died  in  the 
prime  of  life,  as  the  result  of  injuries  from  a  falling  tree.  His  son,  John  W., 
who  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  came  with  his  father 
on  his  removal  to  Butler  county,  Ohio.  March  17,  1825,  he  was  married  to 
Eliza  Christman,  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  the  ceremony  being  performed  by 
Bishop  Kumler,  a  well-known  ecclesiastic  of  that  day.  She  was  born  in 
Preble  county,  Ohio,  June  5,  1805,  her  parents  being  Daniel  and  Madalina 
(Ogo)  Christman.  They  were  both  natives  of  Guilford  county,  North  Car- 
olina, the  father  being  born  March  27,  1793,  and  the  mother,  December  8. 
1776.  They  had  five  children,  John,  Eliza,  Solomon.  Jacob  and  Daniel.  The 
family  were  early  pioneers  of  Preble  county  and  highly  respected  as  citizens. 
Daniel  entered  land  and  became  prosperous  as  a  farmer,  at  one  time  owning 
about  three  hundred  acres.  He  was  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church, 
straightforward  and  honorable  in  his  business  dealings,  and  died  on  his  Ohio 
homestead  when  eighty  years  of  age.  After  his  marriage,  John  W.  Grouse 
located  near  Liberty,  Union  county,  Indiana,  where  he  purchased  land  and 
a  sawmill.  In  the  fall  of  1828  he  removed  to  Tippecanoe  county  and  located 
on  land  in  Wayne  township  two  miles  from  the  present  Grouse  homestead. 
Besides  the  quarter  section  entered  from  the  government,  he  bought  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  acres  and  there  remained  until  his  death,  September  i  3, 
1844.  He  cleared  off  the  timber  and  turned  the  first  furrows  on  the  prairie 
land,  developing  three  hundred  acres  of  rich  soil,  the  greater  part  of  which 
he  brought  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  He  and  his  wife  were  members 
of  the  United  Brethren  church,  in  which  he  served  as  class  leader  and  held 


684  P^^"^    ■'^^^    PRESENT 

other  ofiices.  He  was  a  \-ery  zealous  member,  contributing  liljerally  to  build 
and  support  the  work  of  the  denomination.  At  one  time  he  was  a  Whig- 
candidate  for  state  senator.  He  was  loyal  as  a  citizen,  practical  as  a  farmer, 
straightforward  in  business  and  in  every  way  reliable.  His  wife  died  March 
26,  1883.  aged  seventy-eight  years.  During  her  long  widowhood  of  nearly 
forty  years,  she  depended  on  her  son  Alexander  to  manage  her  business 
affairs.  Her  children  were  as  follow^s:  Mary  A.,  born  October  5,  1826; 
Alexander  H..  October  23,  1828;  Daniel  Franklin,  June  11,  1837,  died  July 
II.  1866;  Mary  A.  married  James  W.  Stewart  and  died  March  23.  1874. 

Alexander  Hamilton  Crouse  was  born  in  Union  county,  Indiana,  Oc- 
tober 22,.  1828.  and  was  but  six  months  old  when  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Tippecanoe  county.  His  early  life  and  training  was  passed  in  the  pioneer 
period  and  he  never  lost  the  coloring  of  character  and  sturdy  qualities  ac- 
quired in  those  days  of  heroic  hardship.  What  little  education  he  got  was 
in  a  log  school  house.  He  knew  all  about  the  soft  side  of  puncheon  seats 
and  helped  put  the  ten-foot  backlog  into  the  yawning  fireplace.  At  inter- 
vals, between  his  sixth  and  fifteenth  year,  this  pioneer  boy  attended  this 
rude  school,  going  occasionally  to  a  school  of  a  little  better  grade  near  O'Dell 
Corner.  His  father  early  began  to  teach  him  practical  business  methods  and 
when  still  a  boy  he  knew  how  to  bargain  for  cattle,  his  father  giving  him  the 
money  and  showing  him  the  points  of  good  stock.  He  was  an  unusually 
bright  farm  boy  and  when  only  nine  years  old  cultivated  thirty-five  acres 
of  corn.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  the  death  of  his  father  left  the  manage- 
ment of  the  farm  on  his  shoulders.  In  time  he  became  quite  prosperous 
as  a  cattle  dealer  and  amassed  wealth. 

June  24.  1894,  Mr.  Crouse  was  married  in  Hardin  county.  Kentucky, 
to  Miss  Tee  P.  Humphrey,  a  member  of  a  distinguished  family  of  the  state. 
More  than  twelve  hundred  people  attended  the  ceremony,  which  was  per- 
formed by  the  bride's  brother.  Rev.  Felix  Humphrey.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crouse 
gave  a  reception  on  returning  to  their  Indiana  home,  which  was  attended 
by  over  six  hundred  friends  and  neighbors  of  the  family.  ]\lrs.  Crouse 
was  born  in  Hardin  county,  Kentucky,  March  25,  1872,  her  parents  being 
Thomas  and  Armanda  (Royalty)  Humphrey.  Her  paternal  grandparents 
were  Samuel  and  Drusilla  (Haywood)  Humphrey.  The  paternal  great- 
grandfather, Samuel  Humphrey.  Sr.,  came  from  Virginia  and  became  a 
pioneer  of  Kentucky,  where  he  made  his  home  among  the  Indians  and  the 
wild  and  romantic  scenery  of  that  famous  region.  Mrs.  Drusilla  Humphrey, 
grandmother  of  Mrs.  Crouse,  was  the  daughter  of  a  prominent  official  of 
Hardin  countv.  who  had  Indian  blood  in  his  veins,  and  more  remote  mem- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  6S5 

bers  of  the  family  served  as  cliiefs  of  the  Shawnee  Indians.  It  is  claimed 
that  a  vast  amount  of  the  land  in  Kentucky  belongs  to  this  branch  of  the 
family.  The  children  of  Samuel  and  Drusilla  Humphrey  were  Sallie.  John, 
Lydia,  Samuel,  William,  Wesley,  Thomas,  Rachel,  and  Mahala,  the  last 
dying  in  early  womanhood.  The  father,  who  was  a  substantial  citizen  of 
Hardin  county,  died  at  his  home  there  in  middle  life.  His  son,  Thomas 
Humphrey,  who  became  the  father  of  Mrs.  Crouse,  was  born  in  Hardin 
county,  March  12,  1827,  followed  farming  and  when  about  twenty  years 
of  age  married  Armanda  Royalty,  who  was  born  in  Hardin  county,  July 
I,  1832,  her  parents  being  Daniel  and  Annie  (Saunders)  Royalty.  Her 
father,  who  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Kentucky,  was  a  son  of  David 
Royalty,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Kentucky.  Annie  Saunders  was  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  and  Sally  Saunders,  the  father  serving  through  the  Revolutionary 
war  under  General  Washington.  He  was  a  very  strong  man  and  weighed 
two  hundred  sixt}'  pounds  when  he  entered  the  army,  but  received  a  wound 
in  battle  which  made  him  a  cripple  for  life.  His  parents  lived  near  one  of 
the  battle  fields  and  the  window-panes  were  shattered  by  the  firing.  After 
leaving  the  army,  Mr.  Royalty  took  up  his  residence  in  Washington  county 
and  there  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days.  His  children  were  Annie,  Isaac, 
Rebecca,  Hannah  and  several  daughters  whose  names  are  forgotten.  Dan- 
iel Royalty  was  a  shoemaker  but  owned  land  in  Hardin  county,  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  substantial  citizens.  He  removed  to  that  locality  soon 
after  his  marriage  and  lived  there  until  his  death.  His  children  were  Sarah, 
Thomas,  Jane,  Rebecca,  Catherine,  Mary  A.,  and  Armanda.  After  their  mar- 
riage, Thomas  Humphrey  and  wife  located  at  the  headwaters  of  Mill  creek, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  and  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  its  cultivation.  His 
children  were  Felix,  Thomas,  Missouri,  John  W.,  Isaac  F.  and  Wyatt  W. 
(twins),  Mary,  Christian  D.  and  Tee  P.  The  father  died  December  22.  1894, 
aged  sixty-seven.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  and  had  served 
as  clerk  and  moderator.  In  business  he  was  industrious,  energetic  and 
trustworthy,  kind  and  affectionate  to  his  family  and  a  iirst-class  citizen  in 
all  respects.  His  widow  makes  her  home  with  Mrs.  Crouse,  and,  like  the 
latter  and  the  rest  of  her  children,  is  a  devoted  member  of  the  Baptist 
church.  The  Humphreys  are  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  influential  of 
Kentucky  families.  Rev.  Felix  Humphrey,  brother  of  Mrs.  Crouse,  was 
educated  at  Garnettsville,  Meade  county,  Kentucky,  and  is  now  an  ordained 
minister  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Alexander  H.  Crouse  was  in  many  ways  one  of  the  most  notable  citi- 
zens of  Tippecanoe  county.     He   was  especially   well   known   as  a   farmer, 


686  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

in  which  Hne  lie  was  energetic,  progressive  and  resourceful.  His  manage- 
ment of  his  mother's  estate  showed  business  ability  of  a  high  order.  For 
eight  and  a  half  years  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  during  that 
time  tried  many  cases,  whose  decision  gave  him  a  reputation  for  moderation 
and  justice.  His  good  common  sense  proved  valuable  to  litigants,  whom 
he  persuaded  to  settle  many  of  their  disputes  out  of  court.  He  always 
favored  arbitration,  if  this  could  be  brought  about,  and  saved  contending 
parties  much  money  by  inducing  them  to  compromise  their  differences.  He 
was  a  man  of  integrity,  of  sterling  character,  and  his  word  was  as  good 
as  his  bond  to  those  who  knew  him.  At  one  time  he  was  a  candidate  for 
state  senator  and  always  took  an  interest  in  politics,  first  as  a  Republican, 
then  as  a  Democrat.  It  is  claimed  that  he  suggested  the  ground-work  for 
the  present  Indiana  liquor  laws,  and  in  other  ways  showed  constructi\-e  ability. 
Mr.  Crouse  travelled  a  good  deal  not  only  in  the  United  States  but  through 
foreign  countries.  In  1869  he  spent  some  time  in  England  and  Ireland, 
Scotland,  W^ales,  France,  Germany,  Spain  and  Turkey.  His  sympathies 
were  warm,  his  disposition  kindly  and  his  nature  generous.  He  was  long 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  filled 
all  the  chairs,  and  also  belonged  to  the  Encampment.  He  died  August 
13,  1908,  and  is  buried  in  the  Westpoint  cemetery,  where  his  widow  has 
erected  a  beautiful  monument  to  his  memory.  Mrs.  Crouse  is  a  lady  of 
many  charms,  bespeaking  the  high  social  connections  and  fine  families  from 
which  she  sprang.  Her  home  is  noted  for  its  hospitality  and  so  kindly  and 
courteously  dispensed  as  to  make  all  who  call  desire  to  come  again.  The 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crouse  are  as  follows:  John  Thomas,  born  April 
26,  1895,  and  died  in  infancy:  William  Alexander,  born  November  24,  1896: 
Mary  Magdalene,  born  October  7,  1898:  Mark  Hermon,  born  August  29, 
1903;  Partlow  Loveless,  born  August  14,  1905,  and  Armanda  Eliza,  born 
October  11,  1908. 


WILLIAM    SBIPSOX    WALKER,    M.    D. 

Dr.  William  S.  Walker,  one  of  the  practicing  physicians  and  surgeons 
of  the  city  of  Lafayette,  was  born  November  16,  1846.  at  Morristown,  Ten- 
nessee, a  son  of  Lovel  and  Amanda  Jane  (Howell)  Walker,  both  natives 
of  Tennessee.  The  father  was  a  Baptist  minister  and  followed  that  and 
farming  many  years.  At  the  time  of  the  Rebellion,  he  was  an  ardent  Union 
man   and    finally    became    a  Republican.      Lovel    and    Amanda    J.   (Howell) 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  687 

Walker  had  four  children :  Jane  married  Noah  Alexander  \\'illiams  and 
now  resides  at  Asheville.  North  Carolina:  Rebecca  married  a  Quaker 
(Friend)  preacher  named  Jonathan  Mills  and  now  lives  at  Seattle,  Wash- 
ington :  Hannah  married  Dr.  Isaac  Walker,  and  resides  at  Alpha,  Tennessee. 
The  other  child  in  the  family  was  Dr.  William  S.,  of  this  sketch.  The 
father  died  in  1879;  the  good  wife  and  mother  is  still  living  and  resides 
on  the  old  homestead  at  Alpha,  Tennessee.  The  land  on  which  she  lives 
was  originally  ceded  to  Tennessee  by  North  Carolina  and  was  first  owned 
by  the  maternal  great-great-grandfather,  Benjamin  Howell.  A  part  of  this 
tract  of  land  has  remained  in  the  name  of  some  of  the  Walkers  and  Howells 
ever  since.  The  residence  now  on  the  place  is  the  fourth  that  has  been  used 
on  the  premises  and  practically  in  the  same  place. 

Dr.  William  S.  Walker  attended  the  Panther  Springs  Academy  at 
Panther  Springs,  Tennessee,  and  subsequently  entered  Mossy  Creek  (now 
Newman-Carson)  College,  at  Jefiferson,  Tennessee.  He  was  still  in  college 
when  the  war  broke  in  upon  his  course  of  studies.  He  then  entered  Miami 
Medical  College,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  graduating  in  the  spring  of  1869. 
He  located  at  Colburn,  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  arriving  the  same  year 
of  his  graduation,  and  practiced  there  until  1876,  when  he  removed  to 
Lafayette,  where  lie  has  been  in  the  constant  practice  of  medicine  ever 
since,  except  a  few  months  when  he  was  absent  taking  a  course  of  lectures 
at  the  Indiana  Medical  College  at  Indianapolis  in  1887  and  a  post-graduate 
course  in  New  York  in  1901-02. 

The  Doctor  is  an  active  member  of  the  Tippecanoe  County  ^Medical 
Society,  the  Mississippi  Valley  Medical  Society  and  the  American  Medical 
Association.  He  is  now  the  president  of  the  District  Councillors  Associa- 
tion and  has  been  connected  with  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  for  over  thirty 
years,  and  physician  and  surgeon  at  St.  Joseph's  Asylum.  Lafayette,  for 
twenty  years.     He  is  now  consulting  physician  for  the  Home  Hospital. 

In  his  political  views  he  of  whom  this  sketch  is  written  is  in  general 
harmony  with  the  platforms  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  has  represented 
his  ward  one  term  on  the  city  council ;  also  served  as  health  officer  and  pen- 
sion examiner.  In  1873  he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  the  office 
of  state  senator  against  Judge  La  Rue.  The  election  was  a  close  one  and 
was  contested,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  normal  Republican  majority 
in  Tippecanoe  county  was  at  that  time  about  eight  hundred.  Like  many 
of  the  modern-day  professional  men.  Mr.  Walker  is  connects!  with  the  ancient 
and  honorable  fraternity  of  Masons,  having  been  advanced  to  the  thirty- 
second  degree  in  that  order.     He  also  holds  a  membership  with  the  brother- 


688  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

hood  of  Elks  at  Lafayette.     For  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  consistent  nien- 
ber  of  the  Trinity  ]\Iethodist  Episcopal  church  of  Lafayette. 

Concerning  his  domestic  afifairs,  let  it  be  stated  that  the  Doctor  mar- 
ried, first,  in  July,  1868,  IMary  E.  Gettel,  by  whom  two  children  were  born, 
Curtis  L,  and  Elmer.  The  wife  and  mother  died  in  1870,  In  1872  he 
married  Emma  A.  Dreyer,  daughter  of  Henry  Dreyer,  and  by  this  union 
two  children  were  born,  Emma  Estella  and  Roy  Simpson.  During  his  long 
residence  in  this  county.  Doctor  Walker  has  always  deported  himself  in  a 
manner  becoming  a  professional  man  and  has  won  a  wide  circle  of  friends, 
both  as  a  doctor  of  medicine  and  citizen  of  a  puljlic-spirited  nature. 


HENRY  TAYLOR  SAMPLE. 

For  more  than  half  a  century  the  late  Henry  Taylor  Sample  was  an 
honored  citizen  of  the  state,  esteemed  and  loved  by  all  who  knew  him.  He 
was  born  near  Middletown,  Butler  county,  Ohio,  September  29,  1805,  and 
died  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  February  19,  1881.  His  parents  were  John 
Sample  and  Ann  Taylor.  His  father  was  a  manufacturer  of  flour  and  one  of 
the  pioneers  in  his  section  of  Ohio  in  building  and  operating  what  were  then 
known  as  gristmills.  His  first  mill  was  near  Middletown,  in  Butler  county ; 
his  second  was  on  the  Big  Miami  river,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  same 
county  at  Colerain.  Subsequently  he  removed  over  the  border  into  Randolph 
county,  Indiana,  where  he  erected  a  mill  on  White  river  and  also  opened  up 
and  cultivated  a  farm.  Henry  Sample,  the  subject  of  this  biography,  either 
inherited  or  acquired  very  early  a  commercial  instinct  and  during  his  minority 
engaged  in  selling  the  products  of  his  father's  mills  and  farm  to  the  settlers 
in  the  interior  of  the  state.  Many  of  the  products  were  transported  in  flat- 
boats  down  White  river,  and  sold  to  the  settlers  in  what  was  known  as  the 
New  Purchase,  which  included  the  present  site  of  Indianapolis.  He  also 
was  one  of  the  pioneers  as  a  boy  in  extending  the  trade  along  the  Mississinewa 
river,  into  the  country  of  the  Miami  Indians  and  to  the  settlers  along  the 
upper  Wabash.  To  reach  the  Mississinewa  it  was  necessary  to  carry  the 
flour,  grain,  vegetables  and  lumber  by  wagon  a  distance  of  eight  miles.  In 
1825  his  journey  was  extended  as  far  down  the  Wabash  as  Lafayette,  the 
site  of  which  had  been  surveyed  and  platted  a  week  before  he  arrived. 

In  1826  Mr.  Sample  married  Sarah  Sumwalt  and  two  or  three  years 
later  settled  in  the  new  town  of  Lafayette.  He  had  already  gained  a  large 
experience  in  trade  and  was  skilled  in  the  tanner's  art.     He  therefore  opened 


/Yy^ufyh^t 


cry 


Thf  Cmhii-y  fHibliahmg  X  Engraving  Co  Cfiicagci 


f^/a^\y  ^(y!^^<^/^l^jC^^ 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  689 

in  Lafayette  a  tannery  which  he  conducted  with  gratifying  success  until  1854, 
in  connection  with  the  other  business  enterprises  of  great  value.  As  early 
as  1833  he  began  the  slaughter  of  hogs  and  nine  years  later  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  the  late  Joseph  S.  Hanna  in  the  business  of  slaughtering  and  pack- 
ing both  pork  and  beef  on  an  extended  scale.  The  firm  of  Sample  &  Hanna 
soon  won  a  high  reputation,  which  extended  from  the  markets  on  the  eastern 
seaboard  to  New  Orleans,  where  many  of  their  products  were  sold.  Mr. 
Sample  himself  made  several  trips  with  cargoes  of  pork  and  lard  on  flat- 
boats  via  the  Wabash,  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  to  New  Orleans,  where 
the  cargoes  were  sold  at  a  good  profit.  By  his  integrity  and  the  honesty  of 
his  dealings  he  gained  the  confidence  of  all  classes  of  the  farmers  and  stock 
growers  with  whom  he  had  most  of  his  dealings.  All  of  them  reposed  such 
confidence  in  him  that  in  times  of  panic  they  would  place  their  surplus  money 
in  his  hands  and  take  his  receipt  for  the  same  rather  than  risk  it  in  the  banks. 
He  was.  during  all  his  successful  business  life,  a  friend  of  the  poor  and  those 
who  were  obliged  to  earn  their  living  by  toil.  He  never  forgot  his  own 
hurnble  boyhood  and  was  always  willing  to  lend  a  hand  to  the  worthy  who 
were  struggling  to  better  their  condition.  In  1858  he  purchased  a  large  tract 
of  land  on  the  Grand  Prairie  in  Benton  county,  which  he  converted  into  a 
fine  stock  farm.  The  management  of  this  farm  and  the  raising  and  market- 
ing of  cattle  was  very  congenial  to  his  taste  and  yielded  large  profits  on  the 
investment.  Mr.  Sample's  judgment  appeared  to  be  unerring  and  he  was 
possessed  of  that  peculiar  foresight  which  is  essential  to  success  in  commercial 
enterprises.  He  counted  the  cost  and  weighed  the  chances  before  embarking 
in  a  new  business,  and  everything  he  undertook  was  managed  with  such 
abihty  and  conservatism,  with  such  energy  and  persistence,  with  such  accurate 
forecasting  of  the  results,  that  no  enterprise  managed  by  him  ever  failed. 
\\'hatever  he  undertook,  in  the  way  of  business,  whether  for  personal  gain 
or  public  welfare,  prospered.  As  a  natural  sequence  to  this  sagacity,  executive 
ability  and  careful  attention,  he  built  up  a  fortune  which  was  ample  for 
himself  and  family.  Unfortunately,  after  fifty  years  of  almost  unexampled 
prosperity  and  uninterrupted  success  in  the  various  industries  and  commercial 
enterprises  with  which  he  was  actively  connected,  he  was  induced  to  largely 
invest  in  manufacturing  enterprises  with  which  he  was  not  actively  connected. 
These  investments  proved  disastrous  and  he  lived  to  see  the  accumulations 
of  more  than  a  half  century  swept  away.  In  early  life  and  so  long  as  that 
p-irty  maintained  a  distinctive  organization,  Mr.  Sample  was  a  Whig  and. 
with  the  majority  of  the  members  of  that  party,  he  entered  into  the  Repub- 
lican partv  at  its  birth  and  remained  a  member  of  it  until  the  close  of  his. 
(44) 


690  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

life.  He  was  never  an  aspirant  for  public  office  or  even  active  in  the  manage- 
ment of  politics,  and  his  only  official  service  was  in  the  common  council  of 
Lafayette.  His  acquaintance  with  farmers  generally,  and  their  high  regard 
for  him,  caused  his  election  to  the  presidency  of  a  county  fair  organized  in 
1867,  which  remained  in  existence  for  three  years.  This  little  pioneer  organ- 
ization was  the  forerunner  of  the  Tippecanoe  County  Agricultural  Associa- 
tion, which  has  grown  to  be  the  largest  association  of  its  class  in  the  state 
of  Indiana.  Much  of  its  growth  and  prestige  are  due  to  the  wise  and  efficient 
executive  administration  of  Mr.  Sample,  who  was  its  first  president  and  its 
only  one  to  the  time  of  his  death.  For  the  last  eight  years  of  his  life  he  was 
a  member  of  the  state  board  of  agriculture,  in  which  his  counsel  was  always 
sought  and  accepted  as  of  great  value  to  the  society. 

Mr.  Sample's  marriage  in  early  life  was  happy  and  for  a  period  of  fifty- 
five  years  the  bonds  of  that  wedlock  held  the  husband  and  wife  in  loving 
companionship.  They  were  similar  in  their  tastes,  their  moral  character  and 
their  religion,  both  being  earnest  and  sincere  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  and  both  enjoying  the  work  of  relieving  the  distressed  and 
making  the  world  around  them  brighter  and  happier  by  dispensing  charity 
with  open  hands.  They  had  eight  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 
Of  the  remaining  five,  John  Godfrey  and  Boyes  Taylor  died  after  reaching 
maturity;  Isabella  Dunbar  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Henry  Taylor;  Robert 
William  is  a  banker  in  Lafayette ;  and  Sallie  A.  is  a  widow  of  the  late  David 
McBride,  of  the  same  city.  Henry  T.  Sample  was  not  only  a  man  of  large 
executive  ability,  but  a  man  of  unusual  intellectual  strength.  His  physical 
proportions  were  also  large,  his  height  being  six  feet  one  inch  and  his  weight 
two  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  He  possessed  a  kindly  disposition,  in- 
viting companionship,  and  his  ministrations  to  others  who  needed  help  were 
the  source  of  joy  and  happiness  to  himself.  His  business  transactions  extend- 
ed over  a  large  area  of  country,  embraced  a  great  variety  of  commercial  busi- 
nesses as  well  as  agricultural  and  industrial  products,  and  through  it  all  he 
was  the  same  honest,  upright,  noble-minded  man.  The  affectionate  rever- 
ence for  his  good  deeds  still  lingering  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  among 
whom  he  lived  will  not  permit  the  memory  of  his  life  to  perish  from  the  earth. 


ARTHUR  BEAVER  WESTFALL,  M.  D. 

Prominent  among  the  younger  physicians  is  Dr.   Arthur  B.  \\'estfall. 
of  the  city  of  Lafayette,  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  in  fact  a  Hoosier 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  69! 

born  and  bred.  Probably  no  medical  practitioner  in  western  Indiana  is 
better  known  than  Doctor  Westfall,  who  was  born  September  17,  i860,  in 
the  county  in  which  he  now  resides.  He  is  a  son  of  a  farmer,  his  parents 
being  Joel  and  Amelia  (Beaver)  Westfall,  now  deceased,  both  widely  known 
for  their  sterling  qualities  of  citizenship  and  home  kindliness.  Their  son 
inherited  the  kindliness  of  his  parents  and  with  energy  and  determination 
has  risen  to  the  fore-front  of  the  medical  profession. 

Arthur  B.  Westfall  was  educated  in  the  district  schools  and  entered 
Purdue  University  in  1878  and  was  a  student  there  for  two  years.  De- 
termined upon  a  career  in  medicine,  the  young  man  matriculated  at  the  Ken- 
tucky School  of  Medicine,  Louisville;  Kentucky,  and  graduated  there  in  1890 
with  signal  honors.  He  then  entered  the  practice  of  his  profession  with 
fair  success.  In  1896  he  went  to  New  York  city  where  he  took  a  post- 
graduate course  in  clinical  medicine  and  surgery  at  the  New  York  Post- 
graduate Medical  School  of  that  city.  Completing  his  work  there,  he  ar- 
ranged to  attend  the  Metropolitan  School  of  Medicine  in  London,  England, 
where  he  took  further  instructions  and  after  completing  his  studies  returned 
to  Lafayette  where  he  has  practiced  his  profession  ever  since  with  a  degree 
of  success  not  many  young  men  attain.  His  fame  as  a  surgeon  is  more 
than  local,  while  his  clientele  of  patients  is  large.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Medical  Association,  the  Indiana  Medical  Association  and  also 
of  the  Tippecanoe  County  Medical  Society.  He  is  also  examiner  for  the 
Federal  and  Equitable  insurance  companies  and  holds  a  high  place  among 
his  brethren  in  the  practice  of  medicine. 

Dr.  Arthur  Westfall  was  married  to  Ada  Lang,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
and  she  has  taken  no  small  part  in  his  success.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  order  at  Lafayette  and  also  a  member  of  the  Trinity 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  the  same  city.  He  and  his  wife  are  identified 
with  the  social  side  of  the  city  as  well  as  being  interested  in  the  work  of  the 
church  to  which  they  belong.  Dr.  Westfall  has  never  forgotten  his  love  for 
the  farm  and  is  the  owner  of  considerable  land  in  the  state  of  Colorado.  His 
career  as  a  physician  holds  out  an  example  to  other  young  men  by  showing 
what  pluck,  perseverance  and  hard  work  will  do  toward  ultimate  success. 


HON.    THOMAS    W^    FIELD. 


Hon.  Thomas  W.  Field,  the  present  city  judge  of  the  city  of  Lafayette, 
was  born  in  Wayne  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  a  son  of  Charles 


692  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

A.  and  Frances  ( Mustard )  Field.  The  father  was  a  soldier  during  the 
Civil  war  period  in  the  Union  army.  At  the  date  of  his  death  he  was  a 
commercial  traveler,  and  he  died  when  the  subject  of  this  notice  was  but 
about  five  years  of  age,  leaving  himself  and  a  brother.  Henry  J-  Field,  to 
battle  alone  in  the  conflict  of  life.  Indeed  such  men  as  the  Judge  have 
reason  to  appreciate  the  cost  of  that  great  war  and  of  the  hardships  which 
its  soldiery  underwent  for  the  flag  of  their  country,  for  few  of  the  men 
who  wore  the  loyal  blue  from  1861  to  1865  returned  in  as  good  a  physical 
condition  as  when  they  enlisted.  The  subject's  mother  is  still  living,  a  well 
preserved  lady  who  did  all  within  her  power  to  rear  and  educate  her  father- 
less sons. 

After  attending  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  young  Field, 
having  graduated  from  the  high  school  at  West  Point,  this  county,  entered 
Depauw  University,  at  Greencastle,  Indiana,  and  graduated  from  the  law 
department  in  1894,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  Tippecanoe  county  bar  in  1895,  opened  a  law  office  at 
Lafayette  and  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession,  in  which  he  has 
made  rapid  progress  and  secured  a  paying  business  among  a  respectable 
class  of  clients. 

In  his  political  affiliations,  the  Judge  is  a  Democrat  and  stands  well 
in  his  part  v.  In  the  month  of  November,  1905,  he  was  elected  to  the  city 
judgeship,  his  term  of  office  beginning  in  September,  1906,  and  expires 
in  January,  19 10.  This  is  one  of  the  political  offices  within  Indiana  which 
admits  of  the  incumbent  performing  the  duties  devolving  upon  such  an 
officer  and  at  the  same  time  practice  law.  He  has  taken  advantage  of  this 
provision  and  held  his  office  practice,  while  serving  in  the  capacity  of  judge. 

The  city  of  Lafayette  is  normally  Republican  by  about  four  hundred 
majority,  but  Judge  Field  was  elected  as  a  candidate  of  the  Democratic 
party  by  a  majority  of  one  thousand,  one  hundred  thirty-one,  carrj^ing 
every  precinct  in  the  city.  In  1902  he  was  a  candidate  for  prosecuting  at- 
torney, and  in  1908  a  candidate  against  Judge  De  Hart,  the  Republican 
and  successful  candidate  for  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Tippecanoe  county. 
In  1898  he  was  deputy  county  clerk,  serving  four  years.  When  the  office 
of  city  controller  was  established  by  law.  he  was  appointed  as  the  first  city 
controller,  serving  ten  months. 

The  Judge  is  a  member  of  the  Jackson  Club,  a  political  organization, 
and  the  Lafayette  Club,  purely  a  social  organization.  Considering  his  years, 
just  in  life's  prime,  the  subject  is  in  possession  of  a  fine  legal  education,  a 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  693 

lucrative  practice  and  the  incumbent  of  an  office  where  good  judgment  and 
discretion  is  demanded.  His  many  friends  and  admirers  be:;peak  for  him  a 
successful  and  long  career  at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench  of  his  county. 


JOHN  P.  FORESMAN. 

The  name  Foresman  has  long  been  connected  with  the  development 
and  progress  of  Indiana  and  the  record  of  the  family  is  one  which  reflects 
credit  upon  the  state.  It  is  a  well-attested  maxim  that  the  greatness  of  a 
country  lies  not  in  the  machinery  of  government  nor  even  in  its  institutions, 
but  rather  in  the  sterling  qualities  of  the  individual  citizen,  in  his  capacity 
for  high  and  unselfish  effort  and  his  devotion  to  the  public  welfare.  In 
these  particulars,  those  who  have  borne  the  above  name  have  conferred 
honor  and  dignity  upon  their  county  and  state  and  as  an  elemental  part 
of  history  we  are  pleased  to  record  a  sketch  of  the  leading  representative  of 
the  family  with  the  object  in  view  of  noting  his  connection  with  the  ad- 
vancement of  one  of  the  most  flourishing  and  progressive  parts  of  the  com- 
monwealth and  affording  an  example  worthy  of  emulation  by  the  young 
men  whose  life  work  is  largely  a  matter  of  the  future. 

John  P.  Foresman,  who  has  been  a  life-long  resident  and  prominent 
citizen  of  Tippecanoe  county,  is  the  elder  of  the  two  sons  of  Bennett  and 
Mary  (Groce)  Foresman,  the  former  born  in  June,  1840,  in  Union  town- 
ship, the  latter  in  Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  in  the  month  of  July,  1842. 
These  parents  were  made  husband  and  wife  at  Circleville,  Ohio,  in  October, 
1864,  and  later  settled  in  Union  township,  where  in  due  time  Bennett  Fores- 
man became  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  and  stock  raisers  in  the 
county,  owning  at  the  time  of  his  death  a  finely  improved  farm  of  five  hun- 
dred acres,  which,  with  other  valuable  property  he  had  accumulated,  made 
him  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  his  part  of  the  country.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  two  years  he  served  as  county  treasurer,  he  devoted  his  en- 
tire life  to  his  chosen  vocation  and  for  many  years  enjoyed  much  more 
than  local  repute  as  a  farmer  and  stock  man,  besides  holding  worthy  pres- 
tige as  an  enterprising,  public-spirited  citizen.  He  died  on  the  homestead 
in  Union  township,  November  8.  1900,  and  was  profoundly  mourned  by  a 
large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances  who  had  learned  to  appreciate  him 
for  his  sterling  worth.  Mrs.  Foresman  is  still  living  and  since  the  death 
of  her  husband  has  made  her  home  in  Lafayette.  \\'illiam  B.  Foresman,  the 
subject's  youngest  brother,  is  engaged  in  the  grain  business  and  for  some 


694  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

years  has  been  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Crabbs,  Reynolds,  Taylor  &  Com- 
pany, which  he  represents  on  the  road  as  travelling  auditor.  He  is  a  man  of 
family,  has  an  extensive  acquaintance  in  business  circles,  especially  among 
the  grain  dealers  of  his  own  and  other  states,  and  stands  high  in  the  es- 
teem of  the  people  of  Lafayette  and  the  county  of  Tippecanoe. 

John  P.  Foresman,  whose  birth  occurred  on  the  3d  of  October,  1866, 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  Purdue  University  and  his  childhood 
and  youth  were  spent  in  close  touch  with  nature  on  the  farm,  and  had  a 
marked  influence  in  developing  a  strong  and  vigorous  physique,  a  well- 
rounded  character  and  fitting  him  for  the  course  of  action  to  which  his  life 
thus  far  has  been  devoted.  He  early  became  interested  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits and  livestock  and  while  still  a  mere  youth  began  dealing  in  the  latter 
in  partnership  with  his  brother  and  it  was  not  long  until  they  had  built  up 
quite  an  extensive  and  lucrative  business.  He  has  never  ceased  his  activity 
in  this  regard,  and,  though  not  as  extensively  engaged  as  formerly,  is  still 
in  touch  with  all  matters  relating  to  livestock,  owning  a  number  of  high- 
grade  animals  on  his  beautiful  farm  in  Union  township  and  occupying  a 
prominent  place  among  the  leading  livestock  dealers  throughout  the  country. 
For  some  time  past  he  has  been  much  interested  in  horses,  making  a  specialty 
of  trotting  stock,  and  now  has  a  number  of  valuable  animals  of  high 
pedigree  and  excellent  records  on  the  turf.  He  is  a  lover  of  the  horse, 
an  excellent  judge  of  the  animal  and  to  his  influence  as  much  perhaps  as 
to  that  of  any  other  man  are  the  farmers  of  Union  and  other  townships 
indebted  for  the  marked  improvement  which  has  recenth^  been  brought 
about  in  their  breeds  of  horses  and  other  domestic  stock. 

Reared  on  a  farm  and,  as  already  indicated,  an  enterprising  and  en- 
thusiastic agriculturist,  Mr.  Foresman  has  never  been  indifferent  to  the  duties 
of  citizenship  nor  neglected  informing  himself  upon  the  leading  stock  ques- 
tions of  the  day.  From  his  youth,  he  has  been  a  reader  and  obser\.'er  and 
since  attaining  his  majority  his  influence  in  the  councils  of  the  Democratic 
party  have  had  much  to  do  in  shaping  its  policies  in  local  matters.  Until 
recently  he  labored  diligently  for  the  success  of  his  party  and  its  candidates 
with  little  thought  of  his  own  advancement,  but  in  1907  he  was  nominated 
for  county  auditor  and  at  the  ensuing  election  defeated  his  rival  by  a  de- 
cisive majority  and  in  due  time  took  charge  of  the  office,  the  duties  of  which 
he  has  since  discharged  in  an  eminently  able  and  satisfactory  manner. 

Mr.  Foresman  is  a  man  of  resourceful  capacity  and  in  the  management 
of  his  private  affairs  as  well  as  looking  after  the  interests  of  the  public 
in  the  position  he  so  worthily  fills,  has  demonstrated  ability  of  a  high  order. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  695 

also  a  faithfulness  to  trusts  which  has  won  the  confid'^nce  of  his  fellow 
citizens  irrespective  of  party  affiliation.  As  an  otificial  he  is  careful  and 
obliging,  discharging  the  duties  incumbent  upon  him  with  the  same  thought- 
ful interest  which  he  manifests  in  his  business  affairs,  and  his  public  career 
thus  far  has  been  above  criticism,  comparing  favorably  with  that  of  any  of 
his  predecessors  and  proving  him  competent  for  any  office  within  the  gift 
of  the  people  of  the  county. 

The  married  life  of  ]\Ir.  Foresman  dates  from  December  26,  1894,  at 
which  time  he  was  united  in  the  bonds  of  wedlock  with  Clara  Kurtz,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Mary  (Ruger)  Kurtz,  of  Lafayette,  where  the  father 
still  lives,  the  mother  being  deceased.  Four  children  have  been  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foresman,  Edward  Bennett,  Helen  Louise,  William  K..  and 
Mary  Elizabeth,  the  last  named  dying  at  the  tender  age  of  four  years.  In 
his  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Foresman  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  brother- 
hood, belonging  to  Shawnee  Lodge  No.  129,  at  the  town  of  Odell,  which 
he  has  served  in  various  ofificial  capacities,  and  in  his  daily  life  he  aims 
to  exemplify  the  beautiful  and  sublime  principles  upon  which  the  order  is 
founded. 


THOMAS  J.  CLAYTON. 

The  well-remembered  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  brief  review 
was  a  man  well  liked  by  a  coterie  of  hn'al  friends  in  the  city  of  Lafayette 
and  vicinity,  and,  since  no  small  part  of  his  success  was  due  to  the  encour- 
agement and  wise  counsel  nf  his  wife,  the  biographer  takes  pleasure  in  pre- 
senting her  life  record  in  the  paragraphs  that  follow. 

Mrs.  Emeline  Clayton  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  June  27,  1833,  the 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Martha  (Rape!)  Jackson,  both  natives  of  the  old 
Tar  state,  where  they  spent  their  useful  and  honorable  lives  on  a  farm.  Of 
their  family  of  five  children  but  two  are  now  living,  namely :  John  Jack- 
son, now  in  his  eighty-second  year  (1909).  who  resides  with  bis  sister, 
Emeline  (Jackson-Miller)  Clayton  in  Lafayette.  The  latter  was  educated  in 
her  native  state  and  was  married  December  19,  1850,  to  Benjamin  T.  Miller, 
which  union  resulted  in  the  birth  of  five  children,  all  boys,  of  whom  but  three 
are  now  living,  namely:  Alonzo  B.  Miller,  who  was  born  January  11.  1852, 
is  a  mechanic  and  lives  in  Lafayette,  being  regarded  as  an  expert  in  his  line ; 
Mortimer  C.  Miller,  who  was  bom  February  2S,  1858.  is  also  a  very  capable 
^vorkman,  living  in  this  citv.  Herbert  E.  Miller,  who  was  born  October  i;. 


696  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

1863,  is  also  a  good  tradesman  and  makes  his  home  in  Lafayette.  After  the 
death  of  lier  first  Imsljand.  who  was  known  as  a  man  of  thrift  and  honorahle 
principles,  Mrs.  Miller  was  married  to  Thomas  J.  Clayton.  Xo  children  were 
born  to  this  union. 

Mrs.  Clayton  was  reared  a  Methodist,  but  being  a  deep  student  and  a 
woman  of  contemplative  mind,  she  has  become  a  Spiritualist,  as  are  also  her 
sons  and  her  brother.  She  has  lived  in  Lafayette  since  1869,  and  she  has 
lived  to  note  the  wonderful  growth  of  the  municipality  from  a  small  village 
to  its  present  populous  and  prosperous  condition.  She  has  always  shov.-n  an 
abiding  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  town  and  county  of  her  adoption,  and 
her  influence  and  judicious  counsel  have  often  been  sought  in  the  promulgation 
of  worthy  enterprises  relating  to  the  church  and  charitable  undertakings,  as 
well  as  socially.  She  is  well  preserved  for  one  of  her  advanced  years,  her 
mind  being  alert  and  active,  and  she  is  an  interesting  and  instructive  con- 
versationalist. She  has  always  been  a  close  observer  of  the  trend  of  the  times 
and  has  kept  well  abreast  of  the  procession.  She  has  been  an  excellent  mother 
and  neighbor  and  her  friends  are  limited  only  by  her  acquaintance. 


JUDGE  CHARLES  HASKELL  HENDERSON. 

No  representative  in  this  biographical  compendium  can  claim  worthier 
ancestors  than  he  whose  life  record  is  briefly  outlined  in  the  following  para- 
graphs, for  they  were  pioneers  of  the  most  sterling  attributes,  typical  repre- 
sentatives of  that  class  of  patriots  that  laid  the  foundation  of  our  present 
great  commonwealth,  leaving  to  us  a  more  glorious  inheritance  than  we  are 
often  prone  to  properly  consider.  We  first  hear  of  Jones  Henderson,  who 
was  born  in  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  in  1785.  When  he  was  seven  years 
old  his  parents,  splendid  types  of  old-time  southern  chivalry,  moved  to  Mont- 
gomery county,  Kentucky^  where  they  established  a  new  home  amid  primitive 
conditions.  In  1816  Jones  Henderson  married  Margaret  Smith,  a  native  of 
Montgomery  county,  Kentucky.  She  was  of  German  descent,  her  mother 
having  been  born  on  the  Atlantic  ocean  while  on  a  voyage  to  America.  Mar- 
garet Smith  was  born  in  1800.  Jones  Henderson  was  of  Scotch-Irish  par- 
entage. While  he  resided  in  the  state  of  Kentucky,  he  was  the  owner  of 
slaves,  but  in  time  he  became  an  abolitionist,  freed  his  women  slaves  and  sold 
the  men.  He  moved  to  Indiana  in  1834,  making  the  trip  overland  in  wagons 
while  the  country  was  still  covered  with  woods  and  swamps  and  the  roads  in 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  697 

marked  contrast  to  our  present  turnpikes — in  fact,  the  roads  became  impas- 
sible at  Jamestown,  Boone  county,  Indiana,  and  the  wagons  were  abandoned, 
the  parents  and  their  ten  children  coming  on  to  Tippecanoe  county  on  foot 
and  horseback.  Thus,  footsore  and  weary,  they  made  their  advent  into  this 
county  in  wintry  weather  when  the  outlook  was  anything  but  encouraging ; 
but,  being  people  of  heroic  mould,  they  regarded  hardships  in  a  different 
manner  than  we  of  the  present  generation,  and  they  set  to  work  with  a  will, 
soon  having  the  nucleus  to  a  home,  which  they  later  made  comfortable  and 
prospered  by  reason  of  hard  toil  and  good  management.  After  their  arrival 
here  they  spent  the  following  winter  in  a  cabin  on  the  Conly  farm,  living 
there  until  March,  1835.  I"  ^^^  meantime  they  purchased  the  farm  west  of 
the  county  poor  farm,  containing  two  hundred  acres,  which  is  now  owned 
by  Judge  Charles  Haskell  Henderson,  the  old  pioneer's  grandson.  Jones 
Henderson  and  wife  became  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  namely :  Addi- 
son, Martha,  John  M.,  Joseph  W.,  Louisa  E.,  Susan  M.,  Mary  G.,  Andrew 
C,  Henry  O.,  Lewis  M.,  James  M.,  and  Alexander  H.,  the  three  last  named 
having  been  born  in  Indiana.  Descended  from  these  there  are  forty-two  grand- 
children living,  one  hundred  and  forty-six  great-grandchildren,  and  ninety- 
three  great-great-grandchildren,  also  three  great-great-great-grandchildren. 

Charles  Haskell  Henderson  is  the  son  of  Addison  and  Nancy  (Clark) 
Henderson.  Nancy  Clark  was  born  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio.  With  her 
parents,  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Albin)  Clark,  she  moved  to  Blackford  county, 
Indiana,  where  the  parents  spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Joseph  Clark 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  Elizabeth  Albin  was  born  in  Virginia,  her 
father  having  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war  and  was  the  owner  at  his  death 
of  over  four  hundred  acres  of  good  land. 

Addison  Henderson  was  a  hard-working  and  prosperous  farmer.  He 
was  for  many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace,  but,  unlike  many  who  have  held 
that  office,  he  nearly  always  remitted  his  fees  and  endeavored  to  settle  most 
of  his  cases  amicably  if  possible.  He  was  an  honorable  and  highly  respected 
citizen  in  his  community. 

Charles  Haskell  Henderson  grew  up  on  the  home  farm,  where  he  laid 
the  foundation  for  a  robust  manhood  by  assisting  with  the  work  about  the 
place.  Being  ambitious  to  secure  an  education,  he  entered  Purdue  University 
when  seventeen  years  of  age,  taking  the  scientific  course,  in  which  he  made 
an  excellent  record,  graduating  from  that  institution  in  1883.  He  early  in 
life  began  the  study  of  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1885  and  has  been 
practicing  in  Lafayette  ever  since,  holding  high  rank  among  the  members  of 
the  local  bar.     He  was  city  judge  of  Lafayette  from  1888  to  1902.  during 


090  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

which  period  he  very  ably  and  satisfactorily  attended  to  the  duties  of  this 
important  office,  winning  the  approbation  of  not  only  his  constituents  but  also 
many  of  other  political  affiliations.  The  Judge  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  He 
gives  considerable  attention  to  his  fine  farm,  which  is  kept  highly  improved 
and  from  which  no  small  part  of  the  Judges  recreation  and  pleasure  is  de- 
rived. Personally,  he  is  sociable,  generous  and  obliging,  consequently  is  liked 
by  all  classes. 


THO^IAS   W.    HOGAN. 

Tlie  people  of  this  name  in  Lafayette  are  descended  from  a  good  old 
Irish  family  of  the  kind  well  known  in  the  first  age  of  internal  improve- 
ments and  who  proved  great  factors  in  the  development  of  the  nation's  natural 
resources.  The  founders  of  the  Indiana  branch  of  Hogans  left  their  native 
county  of  Limerick.  Ireland,  about  1840  and  became  contractors  in  building 
the  Erie  canal.  Following  the  line  of  internal  improvement  toward  the 
West,  they  eventually  reached  Indiana  in  1845,  when  the  rage  for  develop- 
ment was  at  its  height.  In  fact,  the  T.  Hogan  &  Company  Boat  Line  was 
well  known  to  all  who  patronized  the  canal  system  from  the  Ohio  to  the 
Wabash.  James  Hogan,  son  of  the  original  immigrants,  was  about  eight 
years  old  when  they  came  to  America.  He  was  an  active  business  man, 
among  his  other  ventures  being  that  of  a  grain  buyer,  and  he  died  August 
25,  1865.  In  early  manhood  he  married  Helen  AlcCardle,  by  whom  he  had 
seven  children.  Thomas  W.  Hogan,  one  of  the  three  of  these  children 
that  is  still  living,  was  born  at  Lafayette.  Indiana.  January  11,  1850.  He 
attended  the  old  Southern  public  school  and  was  sufficiently  proficient  to 
reach  the  eightli  grade  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  After  his  father's  death  he 
went  to  work  for  the  E.  T.  McFarland  Drug  Company  at  three  dollars  a 
week.  He  was,  however,  too  bright  and  industrious  a  boy  to  remain  long 
at  that  figure  and  it  was  hardly  six  months  before  we  find  him  getting 
an  increase  in  salary.  When  IMcFarland  sold  his  store  to  Tinney.  Mr. 
Hogan  continued  with  the  latter  as  travelling  salesman  at  one  hundred  dol- 
lars per  month  until  1887,  when  he  bought  the  business.  In  1905  The 
Hogan  Drug  Company  was  organized,  with  Thomas  W.  Hogan.  president; 
A\'.  J.  Hogan.  vice-president,  and  John  T.  Hogan.  secretary  and  treasurer. 
Mr.  Hogan  is  active  in  many  ways  in  the  social  and  industrial  life  of  Lafay- 
ette, influential  in  political  and  religious  mo\-ements.  and  altogether  a  citi- 
zen of  vahie  in  all  the  walks  of  life.     He  is  one  of  the  self-made  men  who 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  699 

has  a  right  to  be  proud  of  the  job  and  the  jump  from  three  dollars  to  pros- 
perity, and  even  affluence,  fully  displays  his  energy,  industry  and  indomit- 
able resolution  to  succeed.  In  politics  he  is  an  independent  Democrat,  and 
was  chairman  of  the  gold  Democratic  committee  for  the  tenth  district  in 
1896.  He  is  one  of  the  few  Democrats  chosen  to  represent  the  fourth  ward 
in  Lafayette,  which  is  usually  overwhelmingly  Republican,  and  it  was  a 
flattering  recognition  of  his  business  ability  that  caused  him  to  be  made 
chairman  of  the  finance  committee.  j\Ir.  Hogan  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
Lafayette  Loan  and  Trust  Company,  the  Merchants'  National  Bank,  the 
Henry  Taylor  Lumber  Company,  the  Rexal  Drug  Company  of  Boston,  the 
Lafayette  Horse  Sales  Company  and  is  developing  a  ranch  which  he  owns 
in  the  West.  Twenty-three  years  ago  he  built  a  residence  at  313  Perrin 
avenue,  in  which  he  has  ever  since  made  his  home.  He  is  a  charter  member 
of  the  Indiana  Travelling  Men's  Association,  a  member  of  the  Lafayette 
lodge  of  Elks  and  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  church. 

September  18,  1877,  Mr.  Hogan  married  Anna  Shaughnessy,  a  descend- 
ant of  Irish  parents,  by  whom  he  has  four  children;  John  T.  served  as  a 
member  of  Company  C,  One  Hundred  Sixtieth  Indiana  Regiment,  during 
the  Spanish-American  war.  He  attended  the  Purdue  School  of  Pharmacy 
and  is  now  a  partner  of  his  father  in  the  drug  company.  Alice  M.,  Mr. 
Hogan's  eldest  daughter,  graduated  in  the  high  school  and  married  Walter 
Hunzicker.  William  J.  was  graduated  in  the  Purdue  School  of  Pharmacy  in 
1906  and  is  a  partner  of  his  father  in  the  drug  company.  Harriet  B.,  the 
youngest  of  the  family,  is  a  student  of  domestic  science  at  Purdue. 


SAMUEL  THOMAS  STALLARD. 

For  a  number  of  years  an  honored  citizen  and  representative  business 
man  of  Lafayette,  Samuel  T.  Stallard  belongs  to  that  class  of  public-spirited 
men,  who,  while  advancing  individual  prosperity,  promote  the  public  good 
and  give  a  hearty  and  generous  support  to  those  measures  and  utilities  which 
make  for  the  progress  of  the  community,  the  county  and  the  state.  A 
member  of  one  of  the  leading  law  firms  of  Tippecanoe  county  and  with  a 
reputation  far  beyond  the  circumscribed  limits  of  the  field  to  which  in  the 
main  his  practice  is  confined,  he  has  stamped  the  impress  of  his  individuality 
upon  the  minds  of  those  with  whom  his  business  has  brought  him  into  re- 
lations and   made  his   influence   felt   as   a   leader   of   tbousfht   and   moulder 


700  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

of  opinion  at  a  bar  which  has  long  been  distinguished  for  the  learning,  pro- 
fessional ability  and  high  personal  standing  of  its  members. 

Mr.  Stallard  is  a  native  of  Monroe  county,  Indiana,  born  in  the  city  of 
Bloomington,  November  7,  1841,  being  a  son  of  Rev.  Jacob  M.  and  Maria 
L.  (Beswick)  Stallard,  the  father  a  Tennessean  by  birth  and  one  of  the 
ablest  and  best  known  Methodist  divines  of  his  day  in  the  Central  West, 
the  mother,  a  native  of  Indiana  and  likewise  of  Methodist  parentage  and 
training.  Rev.  Jacob  M.  Stallard  was  brought  to  Indiana  when  a  child  and 
continued  a  resident  of  same  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Entering 
the  ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  his  young  manhood,  he 
made  rapid  advancement  in  his  sacred  office,  served  a  number  of  circuits  and 
stations  in  different  parts  of  the  state  and  by  reason  of  his  ability  in  the  pul- 
pit and  remarkable  success  as  an  organizer  he  was  in  due  time  promoted  to 
the  important  position  of  presiding  elder,  being  up  to  the  time  of  his  ap- 
pointment the  youngest  minister  in  the  state  to  be  thus  honored.  As  a 
preacher  Rev.  Stallard  had  few  equals  and  no  superiors  in  the  West  during 
the  years  of  his  activity  and  usefulness  and  today  among  the  most  flourish- 
ing and  aggressive  churches  in  Tippecanoe  and  other  counties  are  the  ones 
he  planted  during  his  early  ministerial  labors.  He  came  to  Lafayette  in 
1843,  from  which  time  until  his  death  he  was  intimately  associated  with  re- 
ligious work  in  this  section  of  the  state,  and  few  Methodist  divines  became 
as  widely  known  or  accomplished  as  much  in  disseminating  the  principles 
and  doctrines  peculiar  to  the  church  of  which  he  was  long  regarded  as  one 
of  the  strongest  and  most  popular  representatives.  He  had  a  passion  for 
the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged,  labored  unselfishly  and  enthusiastically 
for  the  good  of  his  fellow  men,  hundreds  of  whom,  through  his  able  and  elo- 
quent ministrations,  were  induced  to  abandon  the  paths  of  sin  and  seek  the  nar- 
row way  that  leads  to  life  and  happiness.  Rev.  Stallard  is  remembered  as  a 
preacher  of  remarkable  ability  and  power,  clear  and  explicit  in  statement, 
logical  and  convincing  in  reasoning  and,  possessing  to  a  marked  degree  the 
talents  and  graces  of  oratory,  he  frequently  rose  to  the  heights  of  impas- 
sioned eloquence  and  never  failed  to  hold  the  attention  of  the  most  critical 
and  exacting  audiences,  being  in  his  prime  a  master  of  assemblages  and  the 
peer  of  any  of  his  contemporaries  in  all  that  constituted  forensic  ability 
and  force.  After  a  long  and  useful  career,  devoted  to  the  service  of  his 
Master,  this  able  and  fearless  champion  of  the  cross  laid  down  the  weapon 
of  warfare  and  entered  into  the  rest  which  is  prepared  for  those  who 
persevere  to  the  end,  dying  in  Lafayette,  in  1893,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of 
eighty  years,  his  first  wife  preceding  him  to  the  Silent  Land  in   1850.     Of 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  ,TOI 

their  family  of  seven  children,  but  two  are  living  at  this  time,  Robert  J., 
a  resident  of  Lafayette,  and  Samuel  T.,  whose  name  introduces  this  review; 
James  P.,  Cyrus  O.,  William  A.  and  Robert  J.,  the  deceased  members  of 
the  family,  grew  to  maturity.  By  a  second  marriage  there  were  five  off- 
spring, four  of  whom  survive,  a  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Ann  Davisson,  be- 
ing the  only  one  living  in  Lafayette. 

Samuel  T.  Stallard  spent  his  childhood  and  youth  at  the  various  places 
Where  his  father  preached  and  after  receiving  a  preliminary  education  in  the 
public  schools,  entered  the  Danville  Academy,  which  he  attended  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  great  Civil  war  interfered  with  his  studies.  Actuated 
by  the  patriotic  motives  which  moved  the  loyal  sons  of  the  North,  he  dis- 
continued his  scholastic  work  in  April,  1861,  and  enlisting  in  Company  A, 
Fifteenth  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  which  he  gave  three 
of  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  the  service  of  his  country.  During  this 
period  he  shared  with  his  comrades  all  the  duties  and  dangers  through  which 
his  regiment  passed,  taking  part  in  a  number  of  noted  engagements  and 
skirmishes,  including  the  battles  of  Rich  Mountain,  Elk  Water  and  Green 
Brier  in  western  Virginia,  and  later  was  with  his  command  at  Murfrees- 
boro,  Champion  Hill  and  Missionary  Ridge,  in  the  Tennessee  campaign, 
receiving  a  gunshot  wound  in  the  right  thigh  in  the  engagement  last  named, 
which  caused  him  great  suffering.  Upon  his  recovery,  in  June,  1864,  he 
was  discharged  from  the  service,  w'ith  a  record  for  brave  and  meritorious 
conduct  of  which  any  soldier  might  well  feel  proud,  and  returned  to  Lafay- 
ette immediately  thereafter. 

Mr.  Stallard,  on  April  30,  1867,  entered  the  marriage  relation  with 
Mary  Littleton,  whose  birth  occurred  at  Middletown,  Ohio,  but  who  was 
brought  to  Indiana  by  her  parents  when  quite  young,  the  family  settling 
in  Tippecanoe  county  about  the  year  1846.  Of  the  three  children  born  of 
this  union,  two,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  are  living,  the  older,  Charles  T., 
being  a  practicing  attorney  of  Lafayette  and  associated  with  his  father 
under  the  firm  name  of  Stallard  &  Stallard,  one  of  the  best  known  and 
successful  law  partnerships  in  the  city.  Sadye.  the  daughter,  married  Harley 
A.  Johnson,  master  mechanic  of  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  Railroad  of 
Chicago,  and  resides  in  that  city,  both  being  graduates  of  Purdue  Univer- 
sity. 

Mr.  Stallard  has  been  an  honored  citizen  of  Lafayette  nearly  all  of 
his  life  and  it  is  needless  to  state  that  his  interest  in  the  growth  of  the  city 
and  the  promotion  of  its  various  utilities  and  enterprises  has  brought  him 
prominently  to  the  front  as  a  public  spirited  man  of  affairs.   For  twentv- 


702  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

five  years  he  was  attorney  of  West  Lafayette  and,  in  connection  with  his 
profession,  he  has  from  time  to  time  been  identified  with  various  measures 
making  for  the  material  progress  of  the  city  and  the  best  interests  of  its 
populace,  including  among  others,  the  \\'est  Lafayette  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  in  the  organization  of  which  he  took  a  leading  part  and  for 
twenty-eight  vears  he  has  held  the  office  of  secretary  and  treasurer.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  has  long  been  a  power  in  local  and  general 
affairs,  contributing  to  the  success  of  his  party  by  his  wise  and  judicious 
advice,  as  well  as  by  his  activity  as  a  worker  and  leader.  The  family  of 
which  he  is  a  creditable  representati\e  is  a  prominent  and  long-established 
one  in  Lafayette  and  has  ever  stood  for  honorable  manhood,  sterling  citi- 
zenship and  all  that  makes  for  correct  living  and  high  social  status.  His 
own  life  record  is  unclouded  by  wrong  or  suspicion  of  evil  and,  having  always 
clung  to  whatever  is  of  good  repute,  his  name  is  regarded  by  those  with 
whom  he  mingles  as  a  synonym  of  upright  and  straightforward  conduct. 

Charles  T.  Stallard.  junior  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Stallard  &  Son, 
the  older  of  the  two  living  children  of  Samuel  T.  and  Mary  E.  (Lit- 
tleton) Stallard.  was  born  in  Lafayette.  Lidiana.  June  28.  1872.  He  re- 
ceived his  early  educational  discipline  in  the  city  schools,  later  attended  Pur- 
due University  until  completing  the  course  and  having  decided  to  enter 
the  legal  profession,  prepared  himself  for  the  same  by  close  and  critical 
study  under  the  direction  of  his  father.  Mr.  Stallard  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1893  and  the  same  year  became  associated  with  his  father,  under 
the  name  of  Stallard  &  Son,  a  firm  as  widely  known  in  legal  circles  as  any 
other  in  the  city  of  Lafayette  and  eminently  successful,  as  indicated  by  the 
large  and  steady  growing  practice.  In  his  professional  work,  Mr.  Stallard 
is  careful  and  painstaking,  loyal  to  the  interests  of  his  clients,  a  safe  and 
reliable  counselor,  and  in  the  trial  of  causes  he  has  sustained  his  high  repu- 
tation as  an  attorney  when  opposed  by  some  of  the  oldest  and  strongest  mem- 
bers of  the  Lafayette  bar.  His  career  thus  far  presents  a  series  of  successes 
and,  judging  from  his  advancement  in  the  past,  his  friends  are  justified 
in  predicting  for  him  a  future  of  still  greater  promise  and  usefulness.  For 
five  ye^irs  Mr.  Stallard  has  l^een  attorne\-  for  the  incorporated  town  of 
West  Lafayette  and  for  a  period  of  ten  years  he  held  the  office  of  town 
clerk,  discharging  the  duties  of  both  positions  with  credit  to  himself  and  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  public.  He  is  also  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
West  Lafayette  Loan  Association,  the  success  of  which  is  largely  due  to 
his  efforts,  and  for  some  time  past  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  besides  ser\-ing  the  same 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  7O3 

very  acceptably  as  general  secretary  and  physical  director,  having  been  con- 
nected with  the  association  and  one  of  the  most  active  and  influential  mem- 
bers of  the  association  since  1889.  He  belongs  to  Purdue  Grove.  No.  18, 
United  Ancient  Order  of  Druids,  having  passed  all  of  the  chairs  of  the  local 
lodge  and  served  as  an  officer  in  the  grand  lodge  of  the  state.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  order.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  in  reli- 
gion he  subscribes  to  the  Methodist  creed,  holding  membership  with  the 
West  Side  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  which  he  is  a  trustee. 

Mr.  Stallard  was  married  June  14,  1904,  to  Henrietta  j\I.  Cassman. 
daughter  of  Oliver  H.  Cassman,  of  Lafayette,  the  union  resulting  in  the 
birth  of  two  children,  Oliver  E.  and  Marietta  E.,  both  bright  and  interest- 
ing and  adding  greatly  to  the  happiness  and  content  of  the  domestic  circle. 
Mrs.  Stallard,  like  her  husband,  is  a  Methodist  in  belief  and  an  esteemed 
member  of  the  West  Side  church,  being  interested  in  the  various  lines  of 
work  connected  with  the  organization  and  in  charitable  enterprises  of  what- 
ever name  or  order. 


K.  T.  VYVERBERG.  D.  O. 

The  science  of  osteopathy  has  of  recent  years  made  rapid  headway,  and 
the  practitioners  of  this  somewhat  exacting  profession  are  finding  them- 
selves in  the  front  rank  of  men  of  science  and  the  learned  professions,  with 
their  patronage  rapidly  growing.  The  name  that  heads  this  biographical  re- 
view is  a  well  known  one  in  this  class  and  also  one  that  stands  for  progress 
in  all  lines  in  Tippecanoe  county. 

Dr.  K.  T.  Vyverberg.  the  noted  osteopathic  physician  of  Lafayette. 
Lidiana,  is  a  native  of  Sherrill,  Iowa,  having  first  seen  the  light  of  day  there 
on  September  27,  1877,  the  son  of  John  and  Caroline  Vyverberg,  being  the 
third  child  in  order  of  birth  in  a  family  of  eight  children.  He  was  reared 
on  the  farm  and  assisted  with  the  various  duties  incident  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits in  the  great  farming  belt  of  the  Hawkeye  state,  and  there  he  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  healthful  lx)dy  and  an  active  mind.  He  attended  the  district 
schools  during  the  winter  months  until  he  completed  the  course.  He  then 
entered  the  high  school  at  Dubuque,  Iowa,  from  which  he  was  graduated.  He 
then  returned  to  the  farm  and  for  several  years  devoted  his  attention  to  farm 
work,  but  on  Jan^lary  i,  1901,  he  gave  way  to  a  desire  of  long  standing  to 
enter  the  American  School  of  Osteopathy  at  Kirksville,  Missouri,  and  after 
pursuing  a  course  of  two  years,  during  which  time  he  made  a  verv  com- 


704  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

mendable  record,  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Osteopathy. 

Doctor  \'yverberg  at  once  located  in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  in  the  old  Mil- 
ford  block,  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Ferry  streets,  and  later  moved  to 
No.  651  Main  street,  where  he  is  now  located.  In  the  fall  of  igoC)  he  re- 
entered the  institution  from  which  he  had  graduated,  taking  a  one-year  post- 
graduate course,  which  placed  him  at  the  top  of  his  profession.  He  now  has 
a  liberal  patronage  by  the  people  of  Lafayette  and  surrounding  country. 

The  Doctor  was  happily  married  to  Nellie  Hubbard,  daughter  of  George 
and  Sarah  Hubbard,  the  representative  of  an  excellent  family  of  Lafayette, 
and  to  this  union  two  children  have  been  born,  namely:  Margaret  C,  born 
January  15,  1906,  and  George  H.,  born  November  g,  1907. 

In  his  fraternal  relations.  Doctor  Vyverberg  is  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pvthias,  Lodge  No.  72,  Kirksville,  Missouri,  also  the  Atlas  Club  at  Kirks- 
ville,  Missouri,  and  in  his  church  relations  he  supports  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination, being  a  member  of  the  local  church  and  a  faithful  attendant  upon 
the  same. 

Doctor  Vyverberg  passed  an  examination  in  accordance  with  state  law 
in  Iowa  in  February,  1903,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  he  passed  a 
like  examination  before  the  state  board  of  Indiana,  he  being  the  first  osteo- 
path to  pass  the  examination  in  Indiana.  He  is  a  member  of  both  the  Indiana 
and  American  Osteopathic  associations,  having  served  as  secretary  of  the  first 
named. 


HARRY  C.  SENSE. 

The  well-known  contractor  and  progressive  business  man  whose  name 
introduces  this  biographical  review  and  who  has  for  many  years  been  one  of 
the  leading  representatives  of  the  building  trades  in  Tippecanoe  county,  is  a 
descendant  of  an  old  and  highly  honored  family,  members  of  which  have 
figured  effectively  in  the  affairs  of  northern  Indiana  since  the  pioneer  days. 
Harrv  C.  Sense  was  born  in  Clinton  county.  Indiana,  on  July  16.  1866.  He 
is  the  son  of  William  H.  and  Susan  (Guthrie)  Sense,  the  former  a  native  of 
Tippecanoe  county,  and  the  latter  was  born  in  Clinton  county,  this  state. 
They  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children  (li\'ing).  one  daughter  dying  in  in- 
fancy, the  family  consisting  of  six  sons  and  five  daughters.  Elmer  F..  the 
oldest  son,  was  born  in  Clinton  county,  Indiana ;  he  married  Eva  Harve\-.  of 
^Vabash  township,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  son.  Floyd.  John  E. 
married  Lulu  Carnes,  of  Lafayette,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  sons. 


HARRY   C.    SENSE 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  JO$ 

Glen  and  Paul.  Clarence  married  Elda  (jarman,  of  Mulberry,  this  county. 
Harvey  G.  married  Anna  Jacoby,  of  Clinton  county,  and  tliey  are  the  parents 
of  one  son.  Clifford.  Ottis  G.  married  Miss  Gasman,  of  Lafayette,  and  they 
have  two  sons.  The  daughters  of  William  H.  and  Susan  Sense  are  Dora 
A.,  married  to  Charles  Wakeman  and  reside  in  Millersburg,  Indiana;  Ella 
married  Henry  Haag  and  they  reside  in  West  Lafayette;  Ada  B.  married 
T.  \V.  Lugar  and  reside  in  West  Lafayette;  Jessie  married  Robert  Foster, 
of  West  Lafayette.     Ida,  at  home. 

Harry  C.  Sense  spent  his  early  life  at  home  and  received  a  fairly  good 
common  school  education.  Early  in  1891  he  married  Emma  V.  Click,  who 
lived  near  Mulberry,  Indiana,  where  her  family  was  long  well  established. 
This  union  has  resulted  in  the  birth  of  two  daughters,  Hazel  C.  and  Fairy 
C. ;  also  one  son,  Harlan  Ray. 

Mr.  Sense  early  in  life  decided  to  become  a  carpenter  and  builder  by 
trade  and  he  set  to  work  to  learn  the  same,  with  the  result  that  he  has  become 
one  of  the  most  skillful  workmen  in  this  locality.  Two  of  his  brothers,  who 
became  stone-masons,  and  one  who  learned  carpentry,  worked  with  him  in 
partnership,  and  they  incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  contracting  and  man- 
ufacturing in  1904  under  the  firm  name  of  Sense  Brothers  Company,  and 
ever  since  they  have  grown  in  the  volume  of  business  they  carry  on  until 
this  is  one  of  the  important  firms  of  Tippecanoe  county,  doing  an  extensive 
business  throughout  this  and  adjoining  counties.  About  1906  they  began 
the  manufacture  of  cement  blocks.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  and  in  the  spring 
of  1907  they  added  a  planing  mill  and  lumber  yard,  and  in  1909  another  de- 
partment was  added — tin  and  galvanized  iron.  Their  business  in  all  these 
departments  has  steadily  grown  and  the  future  outlook  for  the  firm  is  de- 
cidedly encouraging.  They  have  handled  some  large  jobs  and  their  work 
has  always  been  eminently  satisfactory,  owing  to  their  skill  and  the  high 
grade  material  they  use,  together  with  their  strict  honesty  in  dealing  with 
the  public. 

Members  of  this  family  all  grew  up  in  Tippecanoe  county  and  the 
brothers  began  making  preparation  to  learn  useful  trades,  and  while  working 
on  the  farm  which  their  father  rented  they  often  discussed  the  various  phases 
of  the  building  trades.  This  farm  was  located  in  Perry  township,  near 
Monitor. 

Their  father,  William  H.  Sense,  started  a  tile  factory  about.  1881  or  1882 

on  the  farm  which  he  worked,  but  he  sold  the  tile  factory  about   1883  and 

moved  to  Wabash  township,  north  of  Octagon,  buying  a  tile  factory  there 

which  he  managed  successfullv  for  four  or  fi\-e  vears.  then  sold  it  and  pur- 

(45) 


7o6  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

chased  a  farm  in  the  same  township.  Then  Harry  C.  Sense  went  to  Mul- 
berry and  began  learning  the  carpenter  trade.  After  working  at  this  trade 
for  two  years  he  began  contracting  in  a  small  way  and,  seeking  a  larger  field 
for  his  operations,  he  came  to  Lafayette,  where  he  has  since  continued  with 
unabated  success. 

Mr.  Sense  is  a  man  of  excellent  business  ability,  exercising  rare  sound- 
ness of  judgment  and  foresight  and  the  fact  that  he  has  built  up  an  extensive 
and  well  patronized  business  from  a  very  small  beginning  is  evidence  of  his 
industry  and  integrity. 


FRANK  KIMMEL. 


Frank  Kimmel,  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  twenty-third  judicial  dis- 
trict and  one  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Lafayette  bar,  is  a  native  of 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  a  son  of  John  and  Tinnie  (Newman)  Kim- 
mel, the  father  born  in  Germany,  but  since  childhood  a  resident  of  the 
county  of  Tippecanoe,  where  he  is  now  engaged  in  business. 

Louis  Kimmel,  the  subject's  grandfather,  was  reared  in  the  old  country, 
but  when  his  son  John  was  about  four  years  old  immigrated  to  the  L'nited 
States  and  settled  at  Lafayette,  Indiana,  where  he  engaged  in  business  and 
in  due  time  became  one  of  the  influential  men  of  the  city.  At  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Civil  war,  he  went  to  the  front  as  captain  of  a  company  recruited 
in  Lafayette  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 
Later,  in  1871-72,  1877-78-79-80,  he  was  elected  mayor  and  held  the  office 
with  great  credit.  During  the  administration  of  President  Benjamin  Harri- 
son, Captain  Kimmel  was  assistant  United  States  marshal,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Washington,  D.  C,  and  he  was  also  in  the  government  service  for 
some  time  in  Alaska,  besides  filling  various  other  official  posts.  After  a 
long  and  eminently  useful  career,  Captain  Kimmel  discontinued  active  pur- 
suits and  for  some  years  past  has  been  living  a  life  of  honorable  retirement 
in  the  national  capital,  having  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of  eighty-twD 
years,  but  retaining  to  a  marked  degree  the  possession  of  his  faculties,  both 
physical  and  mental. 

John  Kimmel,  father  of  the  subject,  has  spent  all  but  four  years  of 
his  life  in  Lafayette  and  in  point  of  continuous  service  is  one  of  the  city's 
oldest  and  most  enterprising  business  men.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the 
book  and  stationery  business  for  over  thirty-five  }ears,  during  which  time 
he  has  built  up  a  flourishing  establishment  and  in  the  lines  of  goods  iiandled 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTYj    IND.  70jr 

commands  the  largest  patronage  in  the  city.  For  a  number  of  j-ears  he  has 
been  active  in  promoting  the  progress  of  the  community,  served  on  the 
county  committee  from  1885  to  1890,  inclusive,  and  has  always  manifested 
a  lively  interest  in  those  measures  and  enterprises  having  for  their  object 
the  good  of  his  fellowmen. 

John  and  Tinnie  Kimmel  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  the  sub- 
ject being  the  oldest  of  the  family;  Estella,  the  second  of  the  number,  is  still 
at  home,  and  John,  Jr.,  the  youngest,  is  assistant  division  engineer  of  the 
Missouri  Pacific  Railroad,  with  headquarters  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas. 

Frank  Kimmel,  whose  birth  occurred  at  Lafayette,  on  May  25,  1876, 
was  reared  in  his  native  city  and,  after  finishing  the  course  of  the  graded 
schools,  entered  Purdue  University,  where  he  pursued  his  literary  studies  for 
a  period  of  two  and  one-half  years,  when  he  became  a  student  of  the  law 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan.  Entering  the  latter  institution 
in  1898,  he  applied  himself  diligently  until  completing  the  prescribed  course 
and  receiving  his  degree  in  1901,  following  which  he  practiced  law  one  year 
in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  and  then  returned  to  Lafayette,  where  he  soon 
built  up  a  lucrative  professional  business.  He  served  five  years  as  United 
States  commissioner  and  in  1908  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the 
twenty-third  judicial  circuit,  for  a  term  of  four  years,  the  duties  of  which 
position  he  has  since  discharged  with  commendable  ability,  proving  a  very 
capable  and  judicious  ofificial,  earnest  and  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  uphold 
the  dignity  of  the  law  and  bring  the  violators  to  the  bar  of  justice,  though 
not  lacking  in  the  elements  of  sympathy  and  charity  in  cases  where  circum- 
stances rather  than  intentions  lead  to  the  commission  of  crime. 

Mr.  Kimmel  is  well  grounded  in  the  principles  of  jurisprudence  and 
stands  today  among  the  leading  lawyers  at  a  bar  which  from  the  beginning 
has  enjoyed  wide  reputation  for  the  commanding  ability  of  its  members.  In 
the  trial  cases  he  is  careful  and  easily  perceives  the  weak  points  in  the  po- 
sition of  his  adversaries  and  before  courts  and  juries  frequently  wins  ver- 
dicts by  clear,  cogent  argument,  which  at  times  rises  to  the  impassioned  and 
eloquent,  but  always  logical  and  convincing.  Mr.  Kimmel  is  a  Republican 
and  as  such  has  rendered  valuable  services  to  his  party  in  a  number  of 
campaigns,  being  wise  in  council,  judicious  in  leadership  and  an  untiring 
and  influential  worker.  Capt.  Louis  Kimmel,  his  grandfather,  was  one  of 
the  original  Republicans  of  Indiana  and  a  leader  in  the  organization  of  the 
party  in  Tippecanoe  county,  all  of  his  male  descendants  being  loyal  to  the 
principles  which  he  espoused  and  among  the  most  active  and  influential  local 
politicians  in  the  city  of  Lafavette. 


708  PAST   AND   PRESENT 

Mr.  Kimniel  has  one  of  the  finest  collections  of  law  books  in  the 
city  and  when  not  otherwise  engaged  finds  his  greatest  pleasure  in  poring 
over  their  contents,  thus  adding  to  his  legal  lore  and  fitting  himself  for 
greater  efficiency  in  his  chosen  field  of  endeavor.  His  acquaintance  with 
the  world's  best  literature  is  also  general  and  profound  and  his  library  large 
and  carefully  selected.  Socially,  he  belongs  to  the  Lincoln  Club,  a  popular 
political  organization  composed  of  the  leading  young  Republicans  of  Lafay- 
ette; he  is  also  identified  with  the  Lafayette  Club  and  holds  membership 
with  Lodge  No.  143,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 


ALBERT   R.   JAMISON. 

Albert  R.  Jamison,  of  the  mercantile  house  of  Jamison  Brothers,  La- 
fayette, is  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  born  in  the  township  of 
Tippecanoe  on  June  25,  1847.  John  W.  Jamison,  his  father,  was  a  Kentuckian 
by  birth,  and  his  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Prudence  Wright,  was 
born  in  Maryland.  These  parents  became  residehts  of  Tippecanoe  county 
as  early  perhaps  as  1832  and  were  married  in  Tippecanoe  township,  where 
their  respective  families  located  on  moving  to  their  new  home,  in  what  was 
then  a  somewhat  wild  and  undeveloped  country.  John  W.  Jamison  died 
]March  28,  1876,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years,  and  his  wife  died  September  21. 
1903. 

Of  the  eleven  children  born  to  John  W.  Jamison  and  his  wife  Prudence 
all  but  one  are  living,  their  names  being,  in  order  of  birth,  as  follows : 
Albert  R.,  of  this  review;  James  W. ;  George  A.;  Oliver  P.;  Charles  B. ; 
Anna,  widow  of  John  N.  Jackson;  Nancy  M.,  wife  of  Sylvester  Jackson; 
Belle  Zora ;  Clarence  F.  and  Frank  B.  Four  of  the  brothers  are  associated  in 
the  mercantile  business,  under  the  firm  name  of  Jamison  Brothers,  viz. :  Al- 
bert R.,  George  A.,  Charles  B.  and  Clarence  F.,  the  house  of  w-hich  they  are 
the  head  being  the  largest  of  the  kind  in  Lafayette  and  one  of  the  most 
successful  in  the  state. 

The  mercantile  business  conducted  by  this  well  known  and  popular  firm 
was  established  November  5,  1879,  by  Albert  R.  Jamison,  who,  w-ith  about 
four  hundred  dollars  capital,  began  in  a  modest  way  to  deal  in  hardware, 
harness,  etc.,  and  it  was  not  long  until  his  trade  w-as  such  as  to  render 
necessary  the  enlargement  of  the  facilities,  his  patronage  from  the  first  far 
surpassing  his  expectations.     Increasing  the   stock  to  meet  the   demand  of 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  709 

his  patrons  and  from  time  to  time  adding  to  tlie  nnmber  of  tiis  salesmen,  he 
kept  pace  with  the  city's  advancement  in  mercantile  interests,  until  within  a 
few  years  his  store  became  one  of  the  most  successful  of  its  kind  in  the 
city  and  gave  him  prestige  in  business  circles,  here  and  elsewhere.  Without 
following  in  detail  the  rise  and  subsequent  development  of  this  large  and 
far-reaching  enterprise,  suffice  it  to  say  that  during  the  first  twelve  years  the 
business  grew  so  rapidly  in  volume  and  importance  that  at  the  expiration 
of  the  period  indicated  it  was  deemed  prudent  to  increase  the  capital  and 
perfect  a  more  thorough  organization.  Accordingly,  on  December  i,  1891, 
the  company  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of  twenty-six  thousand  dollars 
and  given  the  name  of  Jamison  Brothers,  by  which  it  has  since  been  desig- 
nated, the  subject's  three  younger  brothers  having  become  partners  in  the 
meantime.  Since  the  latter  date  the  progress  of  the  firm  has  been  un- 
impeded and  its  success  most  gratifying,  as  the  present  flourishing  condi- 
tion abundantly  attests,  the  invoiced  stock  on  January  i.  1909.  amounting 
to. fifty-eight  thousand,  nine  hundred  and  seventy  dollars  and  the  standing 
of  the  firm  all  that  the  proprietors  or  their  friends  could  reasonably  desire. 
The  Jamison  Brothers  carry  full  and  heavy  lines  of  general  hardware, 
harness,  carriages,  buggies  and  other  vehicles,  agricultural  implements  and 
machinery  and  various  other  articles,  the  building  in  which  the  business  is 
conducted  being  admirably  arranged  and  equipped  and,  to  keep  pace  with 
the  demands  of  the  trade,  a  force  of  fourteen  men  in  the  various  depart- 
ments is  required.  The  building  up  of  such  a  large  and  satisfactory  busi- 
ness bespeaks  sound  judgment  and  ability  of  a  high  order,  both  of  which, 
with  other  admirable  characteristics,  are  possessed  by  the  senior  member, 
to  whom  is  due  much  of  the  success  which  the  firm  has  attained  and  which 
it  now  enjoys.  He  is  a  man  of  large  executive  capacity,  thoroughly  versed 
in  the  multifarious  principles  of  the  lines  of  business  to  which  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  has  been  devoted  and.  as  already  indicated,  he  occupies  a 
position  of  prominence  and  influence  among  the  leading  merchants  of  La- 
fayette, as  well  as  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of  the  county's  representative 
citizens.  He  h.is  all  the  distinctive  American  mterest  in  public  afifairs.  is  in 
full  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  for  many  years  has  been 
active  in  promoting  the  material  progress  of  the  city  and  the  local  and  moral 
advancement  of  his  fellowmen.  Like  his  honored  father,  he  gives  consid- 
erable attention  to  political  matters  and  votes  the  Republican  ticket,  but 
his  business  has  been  of  such  a  character  as  to  prevent  him  from  becoming 
a  politician  or  aspiring  to  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  office. 


7IO  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

The  married  life  of  Air.'  Jamison  dates  from  September  30.  1869,  at 
which  time  he  was  united  in  the  bonds  of  wedlock  with  Zelina  M.  Pierce, 
of  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  the  union  being  blessed  with  five  children, 
viz:  Fred  W.,  a  travelling  salesman,  living  in  Lafayette;  Alpha  P.,  a 
professor  in  the  engineering  department  of  Purdue  University;  Charles  R., 
imnager  of  a  department  of  the  Berger  Manufacturing  Company  of  Can- 
ton, Ohio;  Olive  M.,  wife  of  Richard  Williams,  of  Indianapolis,  and  Mabel 
P.,  now  Mrs.  Dean  K.  Chadbourne,  of  West  Lafayette.  Mr.  Jamison  has 
always  been  a  friend  of  higher  education  and  it  is  a  matter  of  no  little  grati- 
fication and  pride  for  him  to  know  that  all  of  his  children  received  their 
training  in  Purdue  and  earned  honorable  records  in  their  respective  classes. 
In  his  religious  belief  he  is  a  Baptist,  as  are  all  the  members  of  his  family, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  himself  and  wife  have  been  esteemed  members 
of  the  First  church  of  that  faith  in  the  city  of  his  residence. 


DANIEL  P.  FLANAGAN. 

For  ten  years  a  member  of  the  Tippecanoe  county  bar,  Daniel  P. 
Flanagan  not  only  ranks  among  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  city  in  which 
he  resides,  but  has  also  won  an  honorable  place  among  the  distinguished 
lawyers  of  his  native  state.  In  no  profession  is  there  a  career  more  open 
to  talent  than  in  that  of  the  law  and  in  no  field  of  endeavor  is  there  demanded 
a  more  careful  preparation,  a  more  thorough  appreciation  of  the  ethics  of 
life  or  of  the  underlying  principles  which  form  the  basis  of  all  human 
rights  and  privileges.  Unflagging  application,  intuitive  wisdom  and  a  de- 
termination fully  to  utilize  the  means  at  hand  are  the  concomitants  which  in- 
sure success  and  prestige  in  this  great  profession  which  stands  as  the  stern 
conservator  of  justice,  and  it  is  a  calling  into  which  none  should  enter 
without  a  recognition  of  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome  and  the  battles  to  be 
won,  for  success  and  distinction  come  only  as  the  legitimate  reult  of  capacity 
and  unmistaken  ability.  Such  elements  have  entered  into  the  successful 
career  of  Mr.  Flanagan,  who,  though  not  so  long  in  the  practice  as  some 
of  his  contemporaries,  has  attained  a  high  standing  at  the  local  bar  and  else- 
where and  is  accounted  one  of  the  most  successful  practitioners  in  the  city 
of  his  residence. 

A  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana.  Mr.  Flanagan  was  born  in 
Lafavette  on  the  4th  of  March,  1876,  and  is  the  sixth  of  the  nine  living  chil- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  71 1 

dren  of  Patrick  and  j\Iary  (Ryan)  Flanagan,  natives  of  Ireland.  These 
paren.ts  were  born,  reared  and  married  in  county  Limerick  and  shortly  after 
the  birth  of  their  eldest  son,  immigrated  to  the  United  States,  coming  almost 
direct  to  Tippecanoe  county,  where  Michael  Flanagan,  a  brother  of  Patrick, 
was  then  living  and  where  four  of  the  latter's  children  still  reside.  The 
family  of  Patrick  and  Mary  Flanagan  at  this  time  consists  of  the  follow- 
ing sons  and  daughters:  David,  the  only  one  born  in  the  old  country; 
Margaret,  who  married  Charles  Stefifen;  Kate,  wife  of  Timothy  Sullivan; 
Bridget,  now  Mrs.  James  T.  Martin;  John,  Daniel  P.,  Patrick.  Jr.,  Michael, 
and  Mary,  who  is  the  wife  of  John  Dolman,  the  subject  being  the  only  mem- 
ber of  the  family  to  enter  professional  life. 

Daniel  P.  Flanagan  was  educated  in  St.  Ann  parochial  school  and  the 
Union  Business  College  of  Lafayette  and  studied  law  under  the  direction 
of  Will  R.  Wood,  in  whose  office  he  continued  until  his  admission  to  the 
bar  in  1899.  In  that  year  he  engaged  in  the  practice  at  Lafayette  and  in  due 
time  gained  recognition  as  an  able,  energetic  and  honorable  attorney,  with 
the  result  that  his  business  continued  to  grow  until  he  found  himself  on  the 
high  road  to  professional  and  financial  success.  During  the  first  three 
vears  he  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  and  in  November,  1902, 
he  was  nominated  and  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  ihe  twenty-third  judi- 
cial circuit,  making  the  race  as  a  Republican  and  defeating  his  Democratic 
competitor  by  a  handsome  maojrity.  His  own  ward,  which  was  nominally 
Democratic  by  a  majority  of  two  hundred  and  fifty,  cast  two  hundred  and 
seventeen  votes  more  for  him  than  for  his  rival,  and  in  1904,  when  he  stood 
for  re-election,  he  received  in  the  same  ward  a  majority  of  two  hundred  and 
twelve,  the  largest  vote  given  a  Republican  candidate  in  that  part  of  the 
city  in  fifty  years. 

Mr.  Flanagan's  growing  success  in  the  general  practice  enabled  him  to 
enter  upon  his  official  duties  with  assurance  of  success,  and  it  is  freelv  admit- 
ted that  the  district  has  never  had  an  abler  or  more  energetic  and  faithful 
prosecutor.  Unremitting  in  his  efiforts  to  enforce  the  law  and  mete  out 
justice  to  ofifenders,  he  brought  many  to  trial  and  secured  their  conviction 
and  during  his  incumbency  of  four  years  his  name  became  a  terror  to  the 
criminal  classes,  and  infractions  of  the  law  were  less  frequent,  until  reduced 
to  the  lowest  minimum  in  the  history  of  the  circuit. 

Since  his  retirement  from  the  ofifice  of  prosecutor,  Mr.  Flanagan  has 
devoted  himself  closely  to  his  constantly  increasing  general  practice  and  now^ 
commands  a  very  extensive  business  which  is  as  successful  financially  as  pro- 
fessionally.    From  the  beginning  his  patronage  steadilv  grew  as  he  demon- 


712  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

strated  his  ability  to  handle  with  masterful  skill  the  intricate  problems  oi 
jurisprudence  and  he  now  has  a  large  and  representative  clientele  which 
connects  him  with  some  of  the  most  important  litigation  in  the  courts  of 
his  own  and  other  counties.  In  addition  to  his  activity  and  advancement  in 
his  profession,  he  has  also  been  an  influential  factor  in  politics,  being  recog- 
nized as  an  able  exponent  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  With 
the  exception  of  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney,  lie  has  held  no  public 
positions,  but  in  campaign  years  he  labors  as  earnestly  for  his  party's  candi- 
date as  he  would  for  himself. 

Mr.  Flanagan  is  a  married  man.  his  wife  having  formerly  been  Mary 
J.  Straitman,  a  native  of  Lafayette,  and  a  daughter  of  William  and  Frances 
Straitman,  the  father  a  mechanic  and  well  known  resident  of  this  city,  dying 
several  vears  ago.  In  his  religious  belief  Mr.  Flanagan  is  a  Catholic;  he 
was  born  and  reared  in  the  mother  church  and  has  never .  faltered  in  his 
loyalty  to  its  teaching,  being  at  this  time  a  member  of  St.  Ann's  parish, 
under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  M.  J.  Byrne,  and  an  earnest  worker  in  its  various 
lines  of  activitv.  Mrs.  Flanagan  is  also  identifiecl  with  the  same  church. 
Fraternally,  the  subject  holds  membership  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  the  Independent  Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians,  the  Catholic  Order  of  Foresters,  and  the  Lafayette  Club,  a  social 
organization  made  up  of  the  leading  young  men  of  tlie  city.  Mr.  Flanagan 
is  public-spirited  in  .all  the  term  implies,  has  ever  l)een  interested  in  enter- 
prises tending  to  promote  the  general  welfare  and  withholds  his  support  from 
no  movement  for  the  good  of  the  city,  county  or  state.  His  personal  rela- 
tions with  his  fellowmen  have  ever  been  mutually  pleasant  and  agreeable,  and 
lie  is  highly  regarded  socially,  being  easily  approachable  and  a  good  mixer. 


WILLIAM   KIXG   ROCHESTER. 

W^illiam  King  Rochester,  to  whom  Lafayette  was  largely  indebted  for 
its  growth  and  enterprise  before  the  Ci\il  war.  was  born  May  3.  1822,  id 
Columbus,  Ohio.  His  ancestry  traces  back  to  1558.  when  the  family  was 
allowed  or  confirmed  the  coat  of  arms  described  in  the  Heralds  visitations 
of  the  counties  of  Kent  and  Essex.  England,  as  "Or  a  fesse  between  three 
cresents  sa."  Nicholas  Rochester,  born  in  1640,  in  the  county  of  Kent, 
England,  emigrated  in  1689  to  the  colony  of  Virginia,  bringing  his  wife  and 
son  William.     He  bought  a  plantation  bordering  Westmoreland  and   Rich- 


THE   ROCHESTER    PLACE 


^£:^^. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  713 

niond  counties;  his  descendants  lived  there  into  the  nineteentli  centun-.  tlie 
last  being  Jeremiah  Rochester,  grandfather  of  Wilham  King  Rochester. 
His  fatlier,  Ximrod  Rochester,  was  born  on  the  old  homestead,  still  stand- 
ing in  excellent  condition  with  the  initials  "W.  R.  1746"  cut  in  a  broad 
brick  in  the  chimney  corner,  the  home  of  William  Rochester,  father  of  Jere- 
miah and  grandson  of  Nicholas.  In  181 7.  Xinu-od  Rochester,  in  company 
with  Thomas  Howe,  came  north  to  Chiilicothe,  Ohio,  and  on  December  2Cth 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Jane  King,  whose  family  in  the  beginning  of  the 
century  had  moved  there  from  Burlington  county.  New  Jersey.  They  went 
to  Columbus.  Ohio,  to  li\e  and  there  their  seven  children  v-ere  horn.  mm;lv. 
William.  Mary.  Sarah.  Jeremiah.  Hannah  Jane,  Ximrud  and  Geiirge.  'Sir. 
Rochester  returned  but  unce  to  \'irginia.  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death, 
in  1827.  He  and  his  son  Jeremiah  died  of  cholera,  during  the  epidemic  in 
Augiist,  1833.  Three  years  l?ter  George  King,  Esq.,  of  Chillic-the,  brought 
his  sister  and  her  children  to  Lafayette  where  relatives  had  preceded  them. 
In  1836  Mrs.  Rochester  bought  the  home  on  Fourth  street,  opposite  the 
little  church  where  Henry  Ward  Beecher  preached.  William  King  Rochester 
later  had  his  own  residence  built  on  the  site  of  his  mother's  cottage.  At  an 
early  age  he  was  able  to  undertake  the  support  of  his  mnther's  fatnily.  He 
continued  his  education  with  pri\ate  instructors  and  in  a  few  years  sent  his 
younger  sisters  to  Wesleyan  C(  Ilege  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  Sarah  Ro- 
chester and  Lucy  \\'ebb.  afterwards  wjfe  of  President  Rutherford  Hayes. 
were  room-mates.  Mr.  Rochester's  talents  as  a  business  man  were  employetl 
chiefly  in  buying  and  selling  real  estate.  He  was  a  director  of  the  first  Ijank 
organized  in  Lafayette,  the  Branch  of  the  State  Bank  of  Indiana.  In  politics, 
Mr.  Rochester  was  an  active  member  of  the  ^^'hig  party,  and  in  1851.  while 
chairman  of  the  county  central  committee,  was  jnit  forward  bv  them  as  can- 
didate for  congress,  but  he  afterwards  withdrew  from  tlie  race.  In  18^8. 
being  desirous  to  have  certain  beneticiary  legislation  enacted,  he  became  a 
candidate  for  state  senator.  The  election  resulting  in  a  tie,  a  special  election 
was  held   in    which   his   Democratic   o])|X)nent    won. 

On  .April  5.  1854.  Mr.  Rochester  married  Madeline  DuTiel.  a  descend- 
ant of  Charles  Francis  DuTiel,  a  royalist,  who  in  17Q0  was  compelled  to 
flee  from  France  to  escape  the  revolutionists,  and  together  with  a  number 
of  compatriots  came  to  .America  and  were  deeded  by  this  government  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  Scioto  county,  Ohio,  called  the  French  Grant.  They 
founded  the  city  of  Gallipolis,  Ohio. 

W^illiam  King  Rochester  died  May  23.  1862.  The  following,  copied 
from  an  editorial  in  the  l.afaycttc  Courier  at  the  time  of  his  death,  shows  the 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  contemporaries: 


714  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

"\V.  K.  Rochester,  Esq.,  whose  serious  iUness  we  announced  yesterday, 
expired  fifteen  minutes  to  twelve  today.  The  deceased  was  just  forty  years 
old.  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  and  we  speak  the  universal  sentiment  at  large 
in  recording  his  untimely  end  as  a  great  calamity  to  Lafayette.  That  in- 
domitable energA'  which  was  his  distinguished  characteristic,  united  to  a 
vigor  of  mind  and  a  practical  business  capacity,  made  success  in  all  his  un- 
dertakings a  foregone  conclusion  and  as  the  result  of  active  application  ex- 
tending through  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  he  had  acquired  a  large  amount 
of  property  and  was  on  the  high  road  to  wealth  and  independence.  Contrary 
to  a  general  rule  and  in  vindication  of  his  nobility  of  soul,  his  heart  ex- 
panded with  his  prosperity,  and  many  a  poor  family  in  Lafayette  today 
mourns  the  loss  of  a  friend  and  benefactor;  cheap  homes  for  the  homeless, 
was  the  philanthropic  idea  which  inspired  his  enterprise.  The  neat,  com- 
fortable homesteads  which,  counted  by  the  hundreds,  grace  his  several  addi- 
tions to  the  city,  as  well  as  the  public  movements  with  which  he  was  identi- 
fied, are  enduring  monuments  and  will  keep  green  his  memory  for  many 
years  to  come." 

Mr.  Rochester  was  survived  by  his  wife  and  three  daughters :  Mary, 
born  April  4,  1862,  died  April  19.  1867;  Ada.  born  June  23.  1856,  married 
February  20,  1892,  to  Judge  Albert  Duy  Thomas,  of  Crawfordsville ;  Eliza- 
beth, born  June  22,  1858.  married  July  13,  1881,  to  Samuel  Probasco  Baird; 
Mrs.  Baird  died  May  27.  1903.  at  Berne,  Switzerland,  and  is  survived  by 
Mr.  Baird  and  their  son.  Rochester  Baird.  born  September  19,  1882,  now 
one  of  the  younger  members  of  the  Lafayette  bar.  Mrs.  William  King 
Rochester  died  August  27,  1901. 


WILLIAM  J.  ROSEBERY. 

Eew  citizens  of  Tippecanoe  county  are  as  widely  and  favorably  known  as 
\\'illiam  J.  Rosebery.  the  oldest  real  estate  dealer  in  Lafayette  and  one  of 
the  citv's  most  useful  and  highly  esteemed  men.  His  life  has  become  a  part 
of  the  history  of  the  community  in  which  he  has  made  his  home  for  many 
years,  and  his  long  and  honorable  business  career  has  brought  him  before 
the  public  in  such  a  way  as  to  gain  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
m^n  and  give  him  a  reputation  such  as  few  of  his  contemporaries  have  at- 
fined.  Keen  perception,  tireless  energy  and  honesty  of  purpose,  combined 
with  mature  judgment  and  every-day  common  sense,  have  e\er  been  among  his 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY^    IND.  715 

most  prominent  characteristics,  and  while  laboring  for  individual  sticcess  and 
for  the  material  interests  of  the  community,  he  has  also  been  largely  instru- 
mental in  promoting  the  moral  welfare  of  those  with  whom  he  has  mingled. 

U'illiam  J.  Rosebery  was  born  near  Charleston,  V^irginia,  on  the  15th 
day  of  June,  1836,  but  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  was  brought  to  Indiana 
by  his  parents  and,  with  the  exception  of  two  years,  has  since  lived  in 
Tippecanoe  county.  The  father,  Joshua  Rosebery,  was  born  in  Maryland, 
of  German  parentage,  grew  to  maturity  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  in  early 
life  became  a  planter,  though  not  a  slave  holder.  He  married,  in  Virginia, 
Rebecca  Bell  and  shortly  after  the  birth  of  his  second  child  moved  to  Clinton 
county,  Indiana,  and  settled  at  a  place  then  known  as  Prairieville,  about  a 
mile  east  of  the  present  town  of  Clark's  Hill,  Two  years  later  he  came  to 
Tippecanoe  county,  where  he  engaged  in  agriculture,  about  one  mile  west  of 
the  village  of  Wyandotte.  After  residing  in  that  locality  until  the  death  of 
his  wife,  some  time  in  the  early  sixties,  he  went  to  live  with  his  son,  of  whose 
home  he  continued  an  inmate  until  his  death,  in  1870,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five, 
his  wife  having  been  fifty  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  demise.  Joshua  and 
Rebecca  Rosebery  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  three  sons  and  two 
daughters,  two  of  whom  are  living,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the 
second  one  in  order  of  birth.  George,  who  was  the  oldest  of  the  family  and 
a  farmer  by  occupation,  joined  the  Fortieth  Regiment  Indiana  Volunteer 
Infantry,  at  the  beginning  of  the  late  Civil  war,  but  by  reason  of  disability 
was  obliged  to  quit  the  service  before  the  expiration  of  his  period  of  enlist- 
ment. He  never  reco\ered  from  the  sickness  incurred  while  in  the  army, 
dying  a  few  years  after  his  discharge  and  lea\-ing  a  family  consisting  of  a 
wife  and  son  and  three  daughters.  Frances,  the  third  in  succession,  married 
a  J\lr.  Saylors  and  is  living  in  Howard  county,  this  state;  Jane,  who  also 
resided  in  Howard  county,  was  twice  married,  her  second  husband  being 
Andrew  J.  Harness.  Joshua,  the  youngest  of  the  family,  a  married  man 
and  the  father  of  one  daughter,  departed  this  life  in  Texas,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-five. 

The  early  life  of  William  J.  Rosebery  was  spent  in  this  county  and 
until  the  age  of  nineteen  he  lived  on  his  father's  farm  and  assisted  in  culti- 
vating the  same.  The  first  school  he  attended  was  taught  by  his  aunt.  Miss 
Mary  Bell,  who  used  for  the  purpose  the  upper  room  of  his  father's  dwelling, 
the  school  being  supported  by  subscription  and  patronage  by  the  few  families 
living  in  the  vicinity.  Following  this,  he  attended  other  subscription  schools 
in  the  neighborhood,  later  became  a  pupil  of  the  public  schools,  in  wliich  he 
fiin'shed  the  common  branches,  and  then  entered  the  high  school  at  Davton 


7l6  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

where  he  completed  his  educational  experience  with  a  fair  knowledge  of  the 
more  advanced  C(xirses  of  study.  In  1855.  when  hut  nineteen  years  of  age, 
he  was  appointed  bv  John  W.  Martin  deputy  county  treasurer,  and  served 
under  that  gentleman  for  a  period  of  two  years  and  served  four  years  in  the 
same  capacitv  under  Salem  F.  Fry.  his  successor,  during  which  time  he  dis- 
charged his  duties  with  such  efficiency  as  to  Ijring  his  name  prominently 
before  the  Republican  party  as  an  available  candidate  for  the  ofifice  when 
his  principal's  term  should  expire.  When  the  convention  assembled  he  w-as 
the  choice  of  the  majority  of  the  delegates  and  at  the  ensuing  election,  in 
i860,  he  defeated  his  competitor  by  a  handsome  vote  and  during  the  four 
years  ensuing  filled  the  oiifice  with  credit  to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  people  of  the  county,  proving  a  very  capable  and  obliging  official  and 
comparing  favorably  with  the  oldest  of  his  predecessors. 

.\t  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  treasurer.  Mr.  Rosebery,  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  his  successor,  continued  two  years  longer  as  the  latter's  deputy, 
making  a  total  of  twelve  consecutive  years  in  the  ofifice.  during  which  period 
he  rendered  a  faithful  account  of  his  stewardship  and  retired  with  the  confi- 
dence and  gocd  will  of  his  fellow  citizens,  irrespective  of  political  affiliation. 
Shortlv  after  resigning  his  deputyship.  ]Mr.  Rosebery  became  associated 
with  Messrs.  Daggett,  Potter  and  Martin  in  the  manufacturing  of  flour  and 
linseed  oil.  The  firm  thus  constructed  operated  a  large  mill  and  did  an  ex- 
tensive business  until  the  financial  stringency  of  1873  interfered  very  ma- 
teriallv  with  the  enterprise.  Six  years  later  the  business  was  practically 
ruined  bv  a  destructive  fire,  which  swept  away  the  entire  mill  property.  The 
loss  sustained  was  alnvist  total  and  resulted  in  the  firm  being  driven  into 
bankruptcy,  as  the  only  means  of  winding  up  its  affairs. 

Following  this  disaster.  Mr.  Rosebery  accepted  the  position  of  deputy 
county  auditor,  under  Primus  P.  Culver,  with  whom  he  served  two  years,  and 
he  also  continued  in  the  same  capacity  during  the  two  succeeding  terms  under 
his  successors.  Johnson  and  Barnes,  a  total  of  eight  years  in  the  office,  with 
the  duties  of  which  he  became  thoroughly  familiar,  conducting  himself  in  this, 
as  in  his  funm-r  official  relations,  with  an  eye  single  to  the  interests  of  the 
public.  At  the  expiration  of  the  period  indicated  Mr.  Rosebery  resigned  his 
position  and  >htirtlv  thereafter  opened  a  real  estate,  loan  and  insurance  office, 
to  which  line  of  business  he  has  since  devoted  him.self,  building  up  a  large  and 
lucrati\e  practice  in  the  meantime  and  taking  high  rank  among  the  city's  most 
enterjjrising  men  and  public-spirited  citizens.  He  has  been  in  his  present 
business  since  1883.  a  period  of  twenty-six  years,  during  which  time  he  has 
becoiue  widely  and  favorablv  known,  doing  a  \ery  satisfactory  business  in  the 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  7I7 

buying,  selling  and  trading  of  property  in  the  city  and  county,  and  command- 
ing a  very  extensive  patronage  throughout  Indiana  and  other  states.  Besides 
keeping  pace  in  the  matter  (^f  loans  and  insurance  with  the  most  successful 
of  his  competitors,  he  is  at  this  time  the  oldest  real  estate  dealer  in  Lafayette 
and  his  many  years  of  strenuous  endeaxor  have  resulted  in  the  comfortable 
competency  which  he  has  accumulated  for  his  declining  years,  also  in  the  hon- 
orable position  he  has  attained  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellowmen. 

Mr.  Rosebery,  on  August  2.  1859.  contracted  a  matrimonial  alliance  with 
Mary  .Martin,  of  Lafayette,  daughter  of  John  \V.  and  Sina  (Lewis)  Martin, 
the  father  at  one  time  treasurer  of  Tippecanoe  county,  and  it  was  during  his 
term  that  his  future  son-in-law  acted  as  deputy  in  the  office.  Four  sons  and 
the  same  number  of  daughters  have  been  born  to  ]Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rosebery, 
namely:  Henrietta  H. ;  Clara  B..  her  father's  assistant;  Sina.  wife  of  Edgar 
B.  Jameson,  a  grain  dealer  of  Lafayette;  William  J.,  a  salesman  of  machinery; 
John  M. ;  Robert  P.,  a  telegraph  operator,  also  a  dealer  in  grain  at  Gibson 
City,  Illinois ;  J.  Wallace,  who  is  engaged  in  the  heating  and  lighting  business 
at  Gary,  this  state,  and  Mary,  a  young  lady,  who  is  still  a  member  of  the  home 
circle.  The  family  are  members  of  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Lafayette,  and 
in  his  political  faith  Air.  Rosebery  has  been  a  life-long  Republican,  casting  his 
first  presidential  ballot  in  i860  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  The  subject  and  his 
w  ife  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  their  marriage  August  2,  1909.  All 
of  their  eight  children  are  living  and  doing  well  in  their  respective  spheres  of 
activity  and  the  home  is  frequently  cheered  by  the  presence  of  six  grandchil- 
dren, all  bright  and  interesting,  with  doubtless  many  years  of  usefulness  before 
them. 

Mr.  Rosebery  was  a  firm  anil  uncompromising  friend  of  the  Union  during 
the  Ci\il  war  and  served  a  short  time  as  a  soldier,  when  Indiana  was  being 
invaded  by  the  Confederates  under  General  John  Morgan.  During  the  period 
of  enlistment  his  principal  duty  consisted  in  patrolling  the  Ohio  river,  between 
the  cities  of  New  Albany  and  Cairo  on  the  steamboat  ram  "Hornet,"  but  when 
the  presence  of  the  enemy  was  no  longer  feared  he  received  his  discharge,  there 
being  no  further  need  of  his  services. 

In  closing  this  review  of  one  of  Lafayette's  most  highly  respected  citizens, 
it  is  deemed  proper  to  place  before  the  reader  certain  facts  which  by  reason  of 
becoming  modesty,  he  might  prefer  to  remain  unsaid,  but  which,  in  order  to 
afford  a  true  insight  into  his  character  and  furnish  an  example  worthy  of  emu- 
lation by  a  young  man  just  entering  the  struggle  of  life,  are  eminently  worthy 
of  record  in  this  connection.  When  the  financial  disaster,  previously  men- 
tioned, befell  him  in  the  milling  business  and  the  firm  was  forced  into  bank- 


71 8  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

ruptcy.  yir.  Rosebery,  thougli  relieved  by  due  process  of  law  from  any  legal 
obligation  to  pay  such  debts  as  were  thus  barred,  felt  that  a  moral  obligation 
obtained,  a  conclusion  shared  by  his  wife.  Accordingly  they  disposed  of  all  of 
their  property,  ignoring  the  wife's  dower  rights,  and  by  strict  economy  finally 
succeeded  in  settling  the  indebtedness  to  the  last  dollar.  This  magnanimous 
act  is  worthy  of  all  praise  and  in  all  probability  it  was  the  nucleus  to  an  era 
of  prosperity  in  future  years,  which  has  placed  the  worthy  couple  in  comfort- 
able circumstances,  free  from  the  embarrassing  thought  of  having  wronged 
any  man,  even  through  the  technicalities  of  the  law. 

As  already  stated,  the  Roseberys  are  among  Lafayette's  most  honored  and 
esteemed  families,  a  distinction  accorded  them  not  in  recognition  of  great 
wealth,  exalted  literary  attainments  or  brilliant  social  prestige,  but  because  of 
sterling  worth,  peaceful  and  happy  home  life,  filial  affection,  the  domestic 
allurements  and,  above  all,  by  the  determination  to  deal  justly  by  all  men  and 
to  lay  up  treasures  for  another  and  happier  sphere  of  existence. 


DARIUS  H.  FRAZER. 

An  honorable  representative  of  one  of  the  esteemed  families  of  Tippe- 
canoe county  and  a  gentleman  of  high  character  and  worthy  ambition,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  fills  no  small  place  in  the  public  view,  as  the  important 
official  positions  he  has  held  since  1895  bear  witness.  Benjamin  Franklin 
Frazer,  the  subject's  father,  was  born  in  \Mieeling,  West  \'irginia.  He 
married  Mary  McDill,  of  Ross  county,  Ohio,  and  came  to  Indiana  a  number 
of  years  ago,  settling  in  Tippecanoe  county,  where  his  death  occurred  when 
his  son  Darius  was  about  three  years  old.  Mrs.  Frazer,  who  was  born  No- 
vember 30,  1 81 6,  bore  her  husband  four  children,  and  departed  this  life  on 
the  2d  day  of  June,  1882.  Of  the  family  of  this  worthy  couple  two  are 
living  at  the  present  time,  viz. :  ISIaria,  wife  of  Simeon  S.  Sims,  of  Indian- 
apohs,  and  the  subject  of  this  review.  Elizabeth  died  when  a  young  woman 
twenty-six  years  old,  and  Eliza  was  called  away  at  the  age  of  twenty,  Darius 
H.  being  the  youngest  of  the  family. 

Darius  H.  Frazer  was  born  August  14,  1853,  in  Tippecanoe  county, 
Indiana,  spent  his  early  years  on  the  family  homestead  in  Wabash  township 
and  grew  to  manhood  with  well  defined  ideas  of  life  and  its  duties  and  re- 
sponsibilities. In  his  youth  he  attended  the  district  school  near  his  home 
until  obtaining  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  English  branches,  and  as  soon 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  719 

as  old  enough  was  taught  the  lessons  of  industry  and  thrift  on  the  home 
farm,  which  he  helped  to  cultivate  and  which  has  been  in  the  family  name 
ever  since  purchased  by  his  father  many  years  ago.  On  reaching  the  years 
of  manhood,  Mr.  Frazer  assumed  the  management  of  the  farm  and  in  due 
time  became  one  of  the  leading  agriculturists  and  stock  raisers  of  Wabash 
township,  which  representation  he  still  retains.  He  now  owns  the  home  place, 
a  beautiful  and  highly  productive  farm  of  one  hundred  and  tifty-two  acres, 
on  which  are  some  of  the  best  improvements  in  the  locality  and  which  he 
cultivates  by  means  of  hired  help,  the  man  under  whose  personal  supervision 
it  is  now  operated  having  been  in  his  employ  for  twenty-five  years.  Mr. 
Frazer  has  been  active  in  politics  ever  since  attaining  his  majority,  and  for 
twenty-five  years  has  wielded  an  influence  for  the  Republican  party  second 
to  that  of  few  of  his  contemporaries.  ■  He  early  became  familiar  with  the 
history  of  parties  and  their  principles  and  has  always  been  in  touch  with 
the  leading  questions  and  issues  of  the  day,  on  all  of  which  he  keeps  himself 
well  informed  and  abreast  of  the  times.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  a 
potent  factor  in  local  affairs  and  a  leader  of  his  party  in  \\'abash  township, 
where  he  served  very  acceptably  as  trustee,  filling  the  office  five  years  and 
three  months  and  discharging  the  duties  of  the  same  in  a  manner  highly  satis- 
factory to  his  constituents.  He  also  held  the  position  of  supervisor  for  five 
years,  during  which  time  he  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  improve  the  public 
highways  of  his  jurisdiction  and  afford  an  example  much  to  their  credit.  In 
1906  he  was  considered  the  most  available  Republican  in  the  county  for 
sherifif,  and  in  the  convention  of  that  year  he  easily  led  all  competitors  and 
received  the  nomination,  his  triumphant  election  following.  Since  taking 
charge  of  the  office,  Mr.  Frazer  has  been  unremitting  in  his  duties,  proving 
a  capable  and  popular  sheriff,  determined  in  his  efforts  to  enforce  the  law 
and  bring  its  violators  to  justice.  That  he  has  proved  an  efficient  and  good 
sheriff  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  at  the  close  of  his  first  term  he  was  re-nomi- 
nated and  re-elected,  defeating  a  popular  competitor  and  carrying  much  more 
than  the  normal  strength  of  the  Republican  ticket  in  the  year  1908.  The 
better  to  discharge  his  official  functions,  he  moved  in  1906  to  the  county 
seat,  but,  as  already  stated,  still  gives  personal  attention  to  his  agricultural 
interests,  carefully  looking  after  the  management  of  his  farm. 

Mr.  Frazer  is  a  splendid  type  of  the  intelligent,  up-to-date  American, 
in  the  full  sense  of  the  term  a  man  of  the  people  with  their  interests  at  heart. 
As  a  citizen  he  is  progressive  and  abreast  of  the  times  in  all  that  concerns 
the  common  weal.  .Mthnugb  a  partisan,  with  strong  convictions  and  well 
defined  o|)iniijns  on  questions  concerning  which   men   and  parties  divide,   he 


720  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

has  the  esteem  and  contidence  of  the  people  of  the  community,  and  liis  per- 
sonal friends  are  as  the  numl3er  of  his  acquaintances,  regardless  of  party 
ties. 

The  domestic  chapter  of  Mr.  Frazer's  life  dates  from  1882,  on  March 
6th  of  which  year  he  was  married  to  Artentia  Surface,  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Nancy  Surface,  a  native  of  Cass  county.  Indiana,  a  union  blessed  with 
five  children,  viz. :  Mary,  who  married  John  Mantle,  and  lives  on  a  farm 
in  Wabash  township:  Frank,  formerly  a  turnkey  of  the  county  jail  and  at 
present  a  conductor  on  the  street  railway:  he,  too,  is  married,  his  wife  having 
formerlv  been  Anna  Brown,  of  Lafayette :  Margaret,  the  third  child  in  order 
of  birth,  died  at  Marcelline.  Missouri,  August  8,  1907,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  ;  Homer  is  a  street  car  conductor ;  and  Lillian  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Ross, 
residing  in  West  Lafayette.  !Mr.  Frazer  and  family  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  active  in  religious  duties  and  liberal  in  con- 
tributing to  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  at  home  and  in  heathen  lands.  Socially, 
they  are  greatly  esteemed,  and  since  moving  to  Lafayette  have  made  many 
acquaintances  and  warm  friends  among  the  best  people  of  the  city. 


M.  M.  LAIRY.  yi.  D. 

Dr.  M.  AL  Lairv,  who  by  the  inherent  force  of  his  own  industry  and 
determination  has  achievetl  success  in  his  chosen  profession,  and  who  is  now 
one  of  the  highly  honored  practicing  physicians  of  the  thriving  city  of  Lafay- 
ette, justly  demands  recognition  in  the  annals  of  his  county  and  the  following 
sketch  will  present  a  brief  review  of  his  career. 

The  Doctor  was  born  October  6.  1863,  the  sen  of  Alexander  and  ]\Lary  A. 
(Tsley)  Lairy,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Ohio  and  by  their  respective  par- 
ents were  brought  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  when  they  were  yet  in  child- 
hood. The  father  died  when  the  subject  of  this  notice  was  a  mere  child,  after 
which  the  lad  had  to  make  his  way  through  life  unaided  by  the  care  and  sup- 
port usually  afforded  a  son.  He  remained  on  a  farm  until  sixteen  years  of 
age.  when  he  had  received  a  district  school  education.  He  was  imbued  with  a 
laudable  ambition,  however,  to  accomplish  something  among  the  ranks  of  his 
fellowmen,  and  had  frequent  visions  of  a  professional  career.  It  was  in  1879 
when  he  entered  the  Collegiate  Institute  at  Battle  Ground,  Indiana,  and  some- 
time later  became  a  student  at'  the  State  L'niversity  at  Bloomington,  Indiana, 
when  within  one  year  of  graduation,  he  was  greatly  disappointed  at  finding 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  J2\. 

that  on  account  of  sickness  and  close  confinement  he  was  compelled  to  leave 
his  classes.  But  after  a  short  time  engaged  at  other  work,  he  was  so  far  re- 
covered that  he  was  permitted  to  engage  in  teaching  school,  w'hich  profession 
he  followed  for  four  years,  during  which  period  he  met  with  a  gratifying  suc- 
cess as  an  instructor.  ^Meanwhile  he  had  commenced  the  study  of  medicine 
under  Dr.  William  S.  Walker,  of  Lafayette,  and  subsequently  he  matriculated 
at  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine,  at  Louisville,  from  which  most  excellent 
institution  he  graduated  in  1892.  But  wishing  to  be  fully  posted  along  lines 
not  already  covered  in  his  medical  course,  he  took  a  year's  course  in  the  Indi- 
ana ]\Iedical  College,  at  Indianapolis,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1893,  after 
which  he  immediately  came  to  Lafayette  and  established  himself  in  practice. 
His  success  has  been  a  marked  one  from  the  first,  his  large  patronage  including 
many  of  the  best  families  within  the  city.  He  is  a  thorough  reader  of  medical 
literature  and  keeps  fully  abreast  with  the  times  in  which  he  lives,  and  also 
takes  advantage  of  the  latest  discoveries  in  the  science  of  medicine.  In  society 
matters,  the  Doctor  is  a  worthy  member  of  the  Tippecanoe  ^Medical  Society, 
the  State  Medical  Society,  and  the  American  Medical  Association.  He  is  a 
pronounced  Democrat  in  his  political  views.  In  1898  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Lafayette  city  council,  from  the  second  ward  of  the  city,  and  in  1906 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  city  school  board  of  which  he  is  now  the  pre- 
siding officer. 

That  Doctor  Lairy  is  a  leader  among  men  is  seen  when  it  comes  to  the 
number  and  importance  of  the  various  positions  he  has  held.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  visiting  stafif  of  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital ;  member  of  the  lecturing  staff 
'^f  the  State  Soldiers'  Home;  member  of  the  medical  staff  of  St.  Joseph's 
Orphanage ;  surgeon  for  the  Fort  Wayne  &  Wabash  Valley  Traction  Com- 
pany, medical  director  of  the  Lafayette  Life  Insurance  Company  and  the  local 
examiner  for  several  insurance  companies.  Like  many  of  the  present  day  pro- 
fessional men,  the  Doctor  is  identified  with  civic  societies  as  follows :  Member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  having  passed  through  all  the  chairs  in  this  order ; 
also  belongs  to  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  in  which  order  he  was  trustee  for  four  years. 

Doctor  Lairy  was  united  in  marriage  September  22,  1902,  to  Annie  Cas- 
sel,  the  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  Cassel.  The  widowed  mother  of 
Doctor  Lairy  married  C.  H.  Grimes.  She  died  in  the  month  of  February, 
1902;  ]Mr.  Grimes  now  resides  in  Fountain  county.  By  the  second  marriage 
of  his  mother  there  was  one  son  born.  Rev.  J.  E.  Grimes,  who  is  now  pre- 
siding eleder  in  the  United  Brethren  church. 
(46) 


^2,2  PAST   AND    PRESENT 


MYROX  E.  LE  GALLEY.  D.  D.  S. 

Few  prufessional  men  have  "made  good"  more  rapidly  in  the  same 
length  of  time  as  this  ixjpular  and  progressive  young  dentist.  Back  of  a 
fine  educational  equipment,  up-to-date  and  first  class  in  every  particular,  is 
found  the  abounding  energy,  the  knowledge  of  human  nature,  the  social 
diplomacy  and  address  which  furnish  the  keys  to  success.  The  Doctor  has 
been  in  Lafayette  but  thirteen  years,  yet  in  that  comparatively  short  period 
he  has  forged  to  the  front  until  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  dentists 
of  this  part  of  the  state.  There  has  been  a  steady  growth  and  continuous 
progress  with  the  result  that,  financially,  Doctor  Le  Galley  may  be  said 
to  be  sitting  independently  in  the  mansion  of  his  own  building.  The  family 
is  of  Ohio  origin,  their  residence  for  many  years  being  at  Bowling  Green. 
There,  on  tlie  i6th  of  ^lay,  1872,  ]\L  E.  Le  Galley  was  born,  his  parents 
being-  John  H.  and  ]\Iary  S.  (\\'hite)  Le  Galley.  Besides  himself,  there 
were  two  cliildren,  one.  Dr.  Henry  W.  Le  Galley,  a  dentist  in  practice  at 
Bowling  Green,  and  a  twin  brother  of  the  subject,  Marion  Eugene,  also  a 
dentist,  who  died  in  October,  1907.  The  father  was  a  farmer  and  the  three 
boys  had  the  benefit  that  comes  from  the  out-of-door  life  incident  to  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  They,  however,  had  ambitions  that  led  them  away  from 
farm  life,  their  aspirations  being  for  professional  careers.  After  the  usual 
routine  in  the  district  and  high  schools,  Myron  E.  Le  Galley  became  a  student 
in  the  Indiana  Dental  College  at  Indianapolis,  where  he  applied  himself  with 
a  vigor  that  bespeaks  the  ambitious  pupil.  He  began  his  studies  in  the 
fall  of  1892,  and  three  years  later,  in  the  spring  of  1895,  was  made  happy 
by  receiving  the  sheep-skin  which  certified  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental 
Surgery  and  indicated  his  graduation  from  a  standard  school.  He  found 
an  opening  in  the  Indiana  state  capital  and  hastened  to  take  advantage  of  it, 
with  that  sagacity  that  has  always  characterized  his  actions.  Prof.  E.  E. 
Reese  needed  an  assistant  and  the  recent  graduate  accepted,  having  been  the 
Professor's  assistant  while  a  dental  student,  but  this  last  engagement  lasted 
only  one  year,  as  Doctor  Le  Galley  was  desirous  of  an  independent  business 
of  his  own  as  soon  as  possible.  He  had  for  some  time  had  an  eye  on  La- 
fayette as  one  of  the  largest  and  wealthiest  of  the  state's  county  seats,  and 
on  July  I,  1896,  we  find  him  duly  installed  as  a  dentist  in  the  progressive 
capital  of  Tippecanoe  county.  At  first  he  worked  as  an  assistant  to  Dr. 
Frank  I\L  Hamsher,  later  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the  business  and 
eventually  owned  it  all.  He  was  successful  from  the  start,  and  his  practice 
has  increased  bv  a  steady  ratio  until  it  is  now  extensive  and  valuable.     He 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  723 

numbers  among  his  clients  the  most  prominent  and  wealthy  people  of  La- 
fayette, and  patients  ccme  from  all  the  towns  and  cities  for  miles  around. 
He  is  kept  busy  during  all  the  woiking  hours  and  the  measure  of  his  succ^.s 
is  ample  proof  of  the  quality  of  his  professional  work.  His  office  is  equipped 
with  the  latest  appliances  in  his  progressive  profession,  and  nothing  that 
science  can  do  to  mitigate  pain  or  cunningly  furnish  a  substitute  for  nature 
is  omitted  from  the  equipment  of  Doctor  Le  Galley. 

In  1899  Doctor  Le  Galley  married  INIildred  ^Nlay  Rinker,  and  has  two 
sous:  Kenneth  B.,  born  November  29,  1900,  and  Robert  R.,  born  February 
28,  1903.  The  Doctor  ranks  high  in  his  profession  and  is  an  honored  member 
of  the  State  and  Northern  Indiana  Dental  Societies,  as  also  the  association  of 
local  dentists.  His  other  fraternal,  religious  and  professional  connections 
embrace  membership  in  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  \\'oodmen  of  the  World, 
he  being  prelate  in  the  first  mentioned  order.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Baptist  church  and  chairman  of  its  finance  committee,  and  is  also  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Casualty  Security  Association  of  Indianapolis.  Though  his 
early  training  politically  led  him  into  the  Democratic  fold,  he  is  quite  inde- 
pendent in  his  views,  and  in  voting  at  local  elections  refuses  to  be  bound  by 
party  lines,  preferring  to  select  those  who  in  his  judgment  are  the  best  men. 
In  all  the  relations  of  life,  business,  political,  religious,  professional,  fraternal 
or  social.  Doctor  Le  Gallev  is  regarded  as  a  model  citizen. 


EDWARD  C.  DA\TDSON.  M.  D. 

A  descendant  of  an  old  and  influential  family  and  a  physician  who  has 
won  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  a  large  clientele  of  representative  people 
of  Tippecanoe  county  is  the  gentleman  whose  name  forms  the  caption  of  this 
biographical  sketch,  to  a  brief  review  of  whose  career  the  reader's  attention 
is  called  in  the  following  paragraphs. 

Edward  C.  Davidson  was  born  in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  January  30,  1867, 
the  son  of  Hon.  R.  P.  Davidson,  for  many  years  one  of  the  leading  public 
men  of  the  county,  whose  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jennie  Claybough, 
and  to  this  union  seven  children  were  born,  of  whom  Edward  C.  Davidson 
was  the  youngest  in  order  of  birth.  Two  of  their  sons  are  deceased ;  the  rest 
are  attorneys  at  law.  each  making  a  record  in  that  profession. 

The  subject  passed  through  the  common  schools  and  decided  to  devote 
his  life  to  the  noble  profession  of  medical  science.  With  that  end  in  view  he 
entered  Purdue  University,  where  he  took  a  literary  course,  also   studied 


724  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

pharmacy,  making  a  commendable  record  in  both.  He  then  entered  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1 89 1,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  In  1891  he  took  a 
post-graduate  course  in  one  of  the  medical  colleges  of  Chicago.  In  the  same 
year  he  located  in  Lafayette  and  began  practice,  and  he  has  since  met  with 
very  marked  success,  having  built  up  a  large  practice  not  only  in  the  city  of  La- 
favette  but  also  throughout  Tippecanoe  county,  and  he  is  often  called  to  re- 
mote localities  in  consultation  with  other  physicians  whose  skill  has  been 
bafifled.  In  1895  Doctor  Davidson  was  married  to  Lauretta  Johnson,  who 
was  the  representative  of  a  fine  old  familw  well  known  in  this  county.  After 
a  happy  wedded  life  of  about  eleven  years,  Mrs.  Davidson  was  called  to  her 
rest  in  1906.  One  winsome  little  daughter,  Dorothy,  brightens  the  Doctor's 
home,  and  is  attending  the  common  schools. 

Doctor  Davidson  is  not  a  public  man,  although  interested  in  whatever 
tends  to  advance  the  interests  of  his  native  community.  In  his  fraternal 
relations  he  belongs  to  the  ]\Iasonic  order,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  county, 
state  and  national  medical  societies,  in  all  of  which  he  takes  an  abiding  inter- 
est.   He  is  a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  St.  Elizabeth  Hospital. 


ABRAM   BALEXTIXE. 

A  man  of  scholarly  attainments,  yet  of  practical  turn  of  mind,  who  left 
the  indelible  impress  of  his  sterling  personality  upon  all  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact,  was  Abram  Balentine,  for  many  years  a  prominent  citizen  of  I,a- 
fayette,  Indiana.  He  was  born  in  Canonsburg,  Pennsylvania!.  June  7.  1835, 
and  his  parents  were  natives  of  that  state  where  they  spent  their  lives.  Abram 
grew  up  in  his  native  community,  where  he  attended  school  and  became  well 
educated,  for  he  was  always  of  a  studious  nature  and  easily  mastered  what- 
ever subject  he  attempted.  Upon  reaching  maturity  he  conceived  the  idea 
that  larger  opportunities  awaited  him  in  the  then  practically  new  but  grow- 
ing country  of  the  middle  West.  Coming  to  Indiana,  he  soon  secured  a  foot- 
hold and  made  a  comfortable  living,  having  learned  steam  engineering  and 
mastering  every  detail  of  this  line  of  work.  He.  therefore,  spent  the  major 
part  of  his  mature  years  working  as  a  stationary  engineer,  being  considered 
an  e.xpert.     His  death  occurred  May  7,  1904. 

Mr.  Balentine  was  married,  on  September  24,  1861.  to  Mary  :\I.  Xalley, 
the  wedding  occurring  three  miles  south  of  Lafayette  at  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Balentine's  parents.   Walter  and   Sarah    (Reed)    Nalley.      She  was  born   in 


WILLIAM   S.   POTTER 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  725 

Piqua,  Miami  county,  Ohio,  ^lay  i8,  1845,  where  she  grew  to  maturity  anc! 
from  where  her  parents  moved  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  wliile  she  was 
yet  a  young  woman.  She  received  a  fairly  good  education  in  the  common 
schools.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Balentine  four  children,  three  daughters  and  one 
son,  were  born,  namely:  Luella  J.,  born  June  28,  1863,  married  Joseph 
Petitt,  September  10,  1879,  and  after  becoming  the  mother  of  two  children, 
died  August  28,  1896;  Lucinda  Balentine,  born  in  White  county,  Indiana, 
May  17,  1865,  married  on  December  17,  1884,  and  became  the  mother  of  one 
son;  William  R.  Balentine,  born  in  White  county,  January  18,  1868.  married 
September  25,  1889,  and  has  two  daughters;  Mary  Alice  Balentine,  born 
November  22,  1876.  married  April  10,  1899,  and  one  daughter  was  born 
to  her  who  is  now  deceased. 

The  cozy  and  commodious  Balentine  home  is  at  Xo.  15 12  North  Thir- 
teenth street,  in  which  cummunity  members  of  this  ideal  househi.ld  are 
popular.  They  belong  to  the  }.lethodist  Episcopal  church.  These  children  all 
received  liberal  educations,  having  attended  school  at  Chalmers,  Battleground, 
Monticello  and  a  college  of  music  in  Indianapolis.  ^Irs.  Balentine,  being  a 
woman  of  an  artistic  turn  of  mind,  took  a  delight  in  fostering  the  esthetic 
element  in  her  children  and  in  giving  them  every  advantage  to  develop  the 
higher  principles  of  their  being.  She  is  a  very  industrious,  though  modest 
and  home-loving  woman,  a  thoroughly  good  mother  and  kind  neighbor,  and 
she  proved  to  be  a  faithful  helpmeet  to  her  husband,  who  was  of  a  decided 
mechanical  turn  of  mind,,  a  great  reader  and  student  of  mechanics,  practical, 
fatherly  and  kind-hearted,  winning  and  retaining  the  friendship  of  all  classes. 
The\-  have  reared  a  family  of  children  of  whom  any  one  might  be  proud,  the 
wholesome  atmosphere  about  this  home  ha\ing  ever  been  pure  and  uplifting. 


WILLIAM  S.  POTTER. 

The  inevitable  law  of  destiny  accords  to  tireless  energv  and  industrv  a 
successful  and  honoraljle  career  and  in  no  field  of  endeavor  is  tiiere  greater 
opportunity  for  advancement  than  that  of  the  law — a  profession  whose 
votaries,  if  distinguished,  must  be  endowed  with  native  talent,  rectitude  of 
character,  singleness  of  purpose  and  broad  general  knowledge.  William  S. 
Potter  fully  meets  all  these  requirements  of  his  chosen  profession  and  stands 
today  among  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  city  in  which  he  lives,  and  is  justly 
esteemed  one  of  the  able  business  lawyers  of  the  northern  Indiana  bar. 

\\'illiam  S.  Potter,  a  native  of  Indiana,  was  born  at  the  Potter  home- 
stead, corner  of  Columltia   and   Tenth   streets,   Lafavettc,    in    the   vcar    i8ss. 


726  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

being  the  eldest  son  of  A\'illiam  A.  and  Eliza  (  Stiles)  Potter.  The  father. 
a  Xew  Yorker  by  birth,  came  to  Lafayette  in  1843  and  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  later  becoming  a  large  manufacturer  and  an  influential  man 
of  affairs.  The  mother  was  born  in  Suffield.  Connecticut;  came  to  Indiana 
in  1850  and  settled  in  Lafayette,  where  her  marriage  to  ^Ir.  Potter  took 
place  soon  afterwards. 

William  S.  Potter  was  reared  in  his  native  city,  and  after  attending 
both  public  and  private  schools  entered  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, Amherst,  Massachusetts,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1876.  Re- 
turning to  Lafayette,  he  entered  as  a  law  student  in  the  office  of  ^^'allace  & 
Rice,  where  he  continued  until  his  admission  to  the  bar  about  the  year  1878. 
When  the  firm  of  Wallace  &  Rice  was  dissolved,  he  became  associated  in  the 
practice  with  the  former  gentleman,  but  later  being  offered  a  full  partnership 
with  Captain  Rice  he  accepted  the  same  and  the  firm  thus  constituted  lasted 
twenty  years,  during  which  time  both  members  rose  to  eminence  in  their  pro- 
fession. Since  the  dissolution  of  the  above  partnership,  caused  by  the  death 
of  Captain  Rice,  in  1901,  JMr.  Potter  has  practiced  alone,  his  legal  abilities 
and  sound  judgment  attracting  to  him  a  large  and  lucrative  clientage  and 
giving  him  an  honorable  reputation  among  the  leading  men  of  his  profession 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  While  well  grounded  in  the  principles  of 
jurisprudence  and  successful  in  the  general  practice,  for  some  years  past  he 
has  given  special  attention  to  law  relating  to  business  and  real  estate,  in  which 
he  is  considered  an  authority. 

Li  addition  to  his  professional  duties.  Mr.  Potter  has  large  and  important 
real  estate  interests,  and  in  the  improvement  of  lands  and  city  property  he 
has  'done  as  much  and  achieved  as  great  results  as  any  other  man  in  his  city 
or  cnuntv.  similarlv  engaged.  He  is  vice-president  and  director  of  the  Xortli- 
ern  Indiana  Land  Company,  an  organization  owning  twenty-five  thousand 
acres  rf  land  between  T,"fayette  and  Chicago,  which  were  bought  for  devel-. 
opment  and  mvnn  e.-vnt.  also  has  important  holdings  in  Texas  and  Chicago 
real  estate.  In  connection  with  the  interests  referred  to  he  is  also  identified 
with  various  other  enterprises,  notably  the  banking  Inisiness.  in  which  his 
success  has  been  marked  and  continuous,  being  at  this  time  vice-president  and 
director  of  the  National  Fowler  Bank,  besides  having  interests  in  various  like 
institutions  in  other  cities  and  towns. 

Mr.  Potter  has  always  kept  in  close  toucli  with  tlie  material  progress 
and  improvement  oi  Lafayette,  and  all  laudable  movements  to  these  ends 
have  found  in  him  a  zealous  advocate  and  liberal  patron.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  directorate  of  the  Merchants  Electric  Light  .Association,  and  is  also 
similarlv  connected  with  the  Lincoln  Life  Insurance  Company.     Aside  from 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  T^7 

the  various  public  euterprises  with  which  lie  is  identified  he  has  ever  mani- 
fested a  lively  regard  tor  the  social  and  moral  advancement  of  Lafayette, 
to  which  ends  he  has  given  liberally  of  his  time  and  means  and  is  justly 
esteemed  as  a  true  and  tried  friend  of  all  measures  and  movements  havmg 
for  their  object  the  welfare  of  his  fellowmen. 

As  a  lawyer,  ^Ir.  Potter,  as  already  indicated,  stands  high  among  his 
compeers,  and  as  a  financier  and  broadminded  business  man  has  achieved 
success  and  wields  an  influence  and  prestige  which  place  him  in  the  front 
rank  of  Indiana's  men  of  affairs.  He  is  essentially  a  man  of  the  people  with 
the  best  interests  of  humanity  at  heart — in  fine,  a  typical  American  whose  love 
of  country  is  paramount  to  every  other  consideration,  and  who  discharges 
the  duties  of  citizenship  with  a  spirit  in  keeping  with  the  genius  of  our  in- 
stitutiLus. 

In  the  year  1885,  Air.  Potter  was  married  to  Fanny  \V.  Peck,  of  Troy, 
Penns}'lvania.  Mrs.  Potter  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Dames  and 
Daughters  of  the  American  Re\-olution.  ^^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Potter  have  one  son, 
George  L.  Potter,  who  was  graduated  in  1909  from  Howe  ^Military  School, 
a  preparatory  school  of  Har\ard  University,  and  is  now  traveling  abroad.  In 
their  religious  belief  they  subscribe  to  the  Presbyterian  faith,  and  belong  to 
the  Second  church  of  that  denomination  in  Lafayette,  Mr.  Potter  being  a 
trustee  of  the  organization.  Associated  with  Oliver  Goldsmith,  he  had  charge 
of  the  erection  of  the  church  building,  and  when  the  edifice  was  destroyed  by 
fire  soon  after  its  crectinn  the  same  two  gentlemen  were  selected  to  rebuild, 
with  the  result  that  the  church  has  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  attractive 
temples  of  worship  in  the  city. 

As  indicated  in  a  preceding  paragraph.  3.1r.  Potter  has  contributed  much 
to  the  material  improvement  of  Lafayette,  not  tlie  least  among  which  is 
the  splendid  residence  fronting  on  State  street  near  Ninth,  which  he  now 
occupies.  This  sightly  mansion  was  originally  built  by  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut to  represent  that  state  at  the  World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis,  but  when 
the  fair  closed  it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Potter,  who  had  it  dismantled,  packed 
in  cars  and  shipped  to  Lafayette.  In  preparing  a  site  for  the  structure  he 
procured  a  tract  of  four  acres  on  State  street,  from  which  he  removed  the 
buildings  and  erected  the  present  structure  thereon,  making  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  attractive  residences  in  the  state.  The  edifice  is  a  perfect  tvpe 
of  the  colonial  mansion  of  olden  times,  being  modeled  after  several  historic 
homes  of  Connecticut,  the  main  part  three  stories  high,  the  wings  two 
stories.  The  porch  is  also  two  stories  and,  extending  half  across  the  front,  is 
semi-elliptical  in  shape  and  suppcrtcd  liy  four  huge  fluted  columns  of  stone. 


728  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

An  elnborate  colonial  doorway  affords  entrance  to  the  main  part  of  the  build- 
ing and  some  of  the  interior  woodwork,  taken  from  the  historic  Hubbard- 
Slater  home  in  the  city  of  Xorwich.  Connecticut,  adds  interest  as  well  as 
beauty  to  the  apartments  which  it  adorns.  The  great  central  hall  is  open 
through  both  stories,  the  upper  rooms  forming  a  gallery  w-hich  is  wainscotted 
to  the  ceiling  in  the  fashion  greatly  admired  by  previous  generations.  The 
edifice,  which  is  complete  in  all  of  its  parts,  is  finished  in  the  highest  style  of 
the  builder's  art,  and,  with  its  elaborate  furnishing  and  broad,  attractive  lawns. 
walks  bordered  with  beds  of  beautiful  flowers  and  containing  a  number  of 
gigantic  forest  trees  and  many  other  beautiful  and  pleasing  features,  combine 
to  make  a  complete  and  luxurious  home.  ^luch  has  been  written  in  the 
various  magazines  about  this  house  and  surroundings,  on  account  of  its  his- 
toric interest,  and  numerous  pictures  of  it  ha\-e  appeared  in  different  illus- 
trated periodicals,  but  to  be  appreciated  it  must  be  seen,  as  but  a  faint  con- 
ception of  its  size,  beauty  and  attractive  features  can  be  obtained  from  photo- 
graphic reproduction. 

Mr.  Potter  has  not  been  sparing  of  his  means  in  surrounding  himself  and 
family  with  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  and,  being  financially  inde- 
pendent, he  takes  great  pleasure  in  his  home  and  in  travel  each  year  and  is 
well  situated  to  enjoy  the  many  blessings  which  have  come  to  him  as  the 
result  of  his  business  acumen  and  success. 


DOC  I.  NEWTON. 

It  is  deemed  eminently  appropriate  at  this  place  to  call  the  reader's  at- 
tention to  the  life  history  of  the  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this 
sketch,  owing  to  the  fact  that  his  life  has  always  been  such  as  to  inspire 
confidence  and  admiration  on  the  part  of  his  fellow  citizens  and  he  is  today 
reckoned  as  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his  township. 

Doc  I.  Newton  was  born  on  a  fnrni  in  ^ilontgomery  countv  near  the 
boundary  line  between  Montgomery  ami  Tippecanoe  counties.  He  is  the 
son  of  Henry  and  Mary  A.  (Muir)  Newton,  botli  natives  of  Indiana,  having 
been  born  and  reared  near  Lawrenceburg,  where  they  married  in  1842  and 
settled  on  a  farm,  where  their  son.  Doc  I.,  of  this  review,  was  torn  in  1865. 
Shortly  afterward  they  moved  to  a  farm  in  Tippecanoe  county  (Randolph 
township)  where  the  family  remained  until  after  the  death  of  the  father 
on  January  27.  1884,  having  died  shortly  before  his  fifty-fifth  birthdav.     His 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTYj    IND.  729 

widow,  a  woman  of  Ijeautilul  Christian  attrilxites,  still  survi\es.  Ijeing  now 
seventy-four  years  old,  and  her  residence  is  at  Romney.  They  were  the 
parents  of  eleven  children,  six  boys  and  five  girls,  nine  of  whom  are  still 
living,  Doc  I.  being  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth.  These  children  rellect  the 
wholesome  home  environment  in  which  they  were  reared  and  are  worthy 
descendants  of  a  man  whose  life  was  exemplary  in  every  respect  and  who 
was  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Doc  I.  Newton  attended  the  schools  in  Romney,  and  having  completed 
the  prescribed  course  there,  he  spent  one  year  in  the  Ford  high  school  where 
he  made  a  splendid  record,  having  intended  to  remain  until  he  graduated, 
but  he  was  compelled  to  return  home  and  assist  with  the  farm  work,  his 
father  having  died.  He  remained  at  home  with  his  widowed  mother  until 
1890  when  he  began  life  for  himself  as  a  fanner.  In  1893  the  domestic 
chapter  in  his  life  began,  he  having  espoused  Mary  E.  ]\I.  Beach  in  Lafayette, 
Indiana,  a  woman  of* refinement  and  the  daughter  of  an  old  and  honored 
family.  She  was  born  in  Romney  on  November  2,  1870,  the  daughter  of 
Joshua  X.  and  Ellen  Tracy  (  House)  Beach,  both  natives  of  Indiana.  ]\Irs. 
Beach  is  deceased,  and  Mr.  Beach  is  living  in  Lafayette,  having  re-married. 
After  a  happy  wedded  life  of  comparatively  brief  duration,  Mrs.  Newton 
passed  to  her  rest  Noveinber  10,  1907.  Four  children  were  born  to  this 
union,  namely:  Burnys  is  now  (1909)  ten  years  old:  Paul  and  ]\[ax  ard 
both  deceased ;  Howard  Everett,  aged  two  years. 

yiv.  Newton  with  his  two  children  reside  in  one  of  the  finest  homes  in 
Romney,  which  cost  nearly  eight  thousand  dollars.  It  is  elegantly  furnished 
and  in  the  midst  of  beautiful  surroundings.  Besides  this  Mr.  Newton  is  the 
owner  of  se\en  hundred  acres  of  fine  farming  land  in  Tippecanoe  county, 
which,  under  his  able  management,  has  produced  iDounteous  crops  from  year 
to  year  and  it  is  well  kept  in  every  respect  Grandfather  House,  ancestor 
of  Mrs.  Newton,  was  one  of  the  oldest  pioneers  in  Tippecanoe  county,  hav- 
ing come  here  when  the  county  \\as  yet  the  home  of  red  men  and  wild 
beasts.  He  owned  between  seven  hundred  and  eight  hundred  acres  of  land 
in  Randolph  township.  During  his  life  there  was  no  Methodist  church  in. 
Romney,  and  he  being  a  good  Christian  and  strongly  devoted  to  the  ]\Ieth-- 
odist  faith,  arranged  for  the  erection  of  a  ^Methodist  church  building,  which 
still  serves  for  the  local  congregation,  he  having  donated  the  same  to  the 
people  of  Romnev  for  a  place  of  worship.  The  building  cost  five  thousand 
dollars.  Grandfather  and  grandmother  House  are  both  sleeping  the  sleep 
of  the  just  in  the  cemetery  at  Romney,  as  also  are  their  two  children,  the 
onlv  ones  born  to  them. 


730  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Mr.  Newton  is  known  as  a  very  religious  man  and  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  church  practically  all  his  life.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  church  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  which  office  he 
still  very  creditably  fills,  always  taking-  a  delight  in  doing  what  he  can  in 
furthering  the  work  of  the  church,  or,  indeed,  any  other  work  looking  to  the 
moral  or  material  advancement  of  his  county.  He  has  always  been  a  Re- 
publican, but  has  never  been  an  active  worker  in  the  ranks  and  has  never 
sought  nor  held  public  office.  He  is  a  pleasant  man  to  meet,  affable,  genial, 
courteous  and  hospitable  and  he  holds  high  rank  among  the  representative 
citizens  of  Tippecanoe  county  where  he  is  well  and  favorably  known  and 
where  he  has  led  a  verv  consistent  and  industrious  life. 


HOX.  JAMES  LIXDSEV  CALDWELL. 

James  L.  Caldwell  not  only  h(ilds  distinctive  precedence  in  his  profession, 
but  during  the  more  than  thirty-six  years  that  have  elapsed  since  becoming 
a  resident  of  Lafayette  he  has  always  had  deeply  at  heart  the  well  being  and 
improvement  of  the  city.  On  the  paternal  side,  Mr.  Caldwell  is  descended 
from  sterling  Revolutionary  ancestry,  his  great-grandfather,  Alexander  Cald- 
well, a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  among  the  early  pioneers  of  Kentucky, 
having  served  in  the  struggle  for  independence  under  General  Washington. 
Alexander  Caldwell  married  and,  as  already  stated,  moved  to  Kentucky  in 
1784,  when  it  was  indeed  "The  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground."  and  there  estab- 
lished a  family,  among  his  children  being  a  son  named  for  himself,  .\lexander, 
whose  birth  occurred  in  Nicholas  C(^unty,  in  an  early  day.  and  who  chose 
for  his  wife  Hannah  Sample,  \\-ho  was  horn  and  reared  in  that  part  of  the 
state.  Like  his  father,  Alexander,  Jr.,  was  a  tiller  of  the  soil  and  a  man  of 
influence  in  the  community.  He  bore  an  active  part  in  the  material  develop- 
ment of  his  county,  manifested  a  lively  interest  in  civic  matters  and  for  a 
number  of  vears  was  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  in  no  small  degree  a 
leader  among  his  neighbors  and  fellow  citizens.  He,  too.  reared  a  family 
and  migrated  to  Boone  ccmnty.  Indiana,  during  the  pioneer  days  of  the 
thirties  and  settled  on  a  farm  abnut  live  miles  from  Thnrntown.  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  he  and  his  faithful  wife  dying  when  well 
advanced  in  years. 

Tames  Harvev  Caldwell,  a  .son  of  the  above  mentioned,  was  born  in 
Nicholas  countv,   Kentuckv,    januarv  30,    181 7,  and  was  a  young  man  when 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  73 1 

lie  accompanied  his  parents  to  Indiana.  He  married  Ellen  Tiberghein,  a 
native  of  ]Miami  county,  Ohio,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Charles  Tiberghein,  a 
French  immigrant  who  arrived  in  America  in  the  time  of  the  colonies  and 
served  with  distinction  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  making  two  of  her  mother's 
grandfathers  who  fought  in  the  struggle,  hence  it  will  be  readily  inferred 
that  the  subject's  descent  from  heroic  ancestry  is  beyond  question,  and  today 
there  are  few,  if  any.  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution  with  as  clear  a  title 
')i-  as  many  bars  to  their  credit.  James  Harvey  and  Ellen  Caldwell  spent  the 
greater  portion  of  their  lives  on  the  home  farm  in  Boone  county,  and  were 
highly  respected  by  their  neighbors  and  friends.  They  possessed  many  of  the 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  that  beget  confidence  and  insure  popularity, 
always  lived  according  tn  their  high  conceptions  of  duty  and  exercised  a 
wholesome  moral  influence  in  the  community  where  they  made  their  home 
for  so  many  years.  Mr.  Caldwell  died  on  the  family  homestead,  five  miles 
from  Thorntown,  July  i6,  1888,  his  widow  surviving  him  until  Xo\-ember 
26,  1892.  The  familv  of  this  estimaiile  couple  consisted  of  two  sons,  Albert 
\\\,  who  was  born  June  18,  1845,  and  James  Lindsey,  the  subject  of  this 
review,  whose  birth  occurred  on  June  29,  1849. 

Both  of  the  Caldwell  brothers  spent  their  childhood  and  youth  on  the 
home  place  in  Boone  county,  and  after  a  preliminary  educational  discipline 
in  a  school  at  W^alnut  Grove,  under  the  auspices  of  the  society  of  Friends, 
entered  the  academy  at  Thorntown,  where  they  made  substantial  progress  in 
the  higher  branches  of  learning,  the  training  thus  received  being  afterwards 
supplemented  by  a  full  course  in  the  Stockwell  Collegiate  Institute,  at  that 
time  in  Tippecanoe  county.  After  Albert's  graduation  from  the  institute  at 
Thornti.wn,  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  due  time,  and  for  several  years  thereafter  practiced 
his  profession  in  Boone  county,  achieving  marked  distinction  as  an  able, 
judicious  and  remarkably  successful  attorney.  In  1873  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  brother  at  Lafayette  which  lasted  until  his  death,  his  success 
in  his  former  field  of  practice  fitting  him  for  the  raj^id  advancement  and 
di.stinguislied  achievements  which  characterized  his  professional  career  in 
this  city,  a  career  covering  ;i  jiericd  of  thirty-four  years,  during  which  time 
he  'rose  to  a  conspicuous  place  among  the  leading  members  of  the  local  bar. 
besides  becoming  widely  and  favorably  known  in  the  legal  circles  of  various 
otlier  counties.  He  married  Lottie  White,  of  Lafayette,  who  bore  him  lour 
children,  Arthur  G.,  a  civil  engineer;  .\lberta,  a  young  lady  living  with  her 
widowed  mother;  Lillian  and  Dorothv,  twins,  ]nirsuing  their  studies  in  the 
high  school. 


732  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

-Albert  Caldwell  always  stood  high  in  his  profession  and,  as  already 
indicated,  met  with  gratifying  success.  For  a  number  of  years  his  name  ap- 
peared in  connection  with  much  important  litigation,  in  addition  to  which  he 
built  up  a  large  and  lucrative  office  business,  being  esteemed  an  honorable 
and  judicious  as  well  as  a  learned  and  able  lawyer,  faithful  to  the  interests 
of  his  clients  and  above  the  suspicion  of  reproach  as  a  counselor.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  active  practice  until  his  untimely  death,  December  4,  1907,  im- 
mediately after  A\hich,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Tippecanoe  county  bar.  the  follow- 
ing appropriate  resolutions  relative  to  his  life  and  professional  standing  were 
read  and  adopted : 

"As  the  autumn  of  the  year  has  passed  from  us  touched  by  the  icy  hand 
of  winter,  so  in  the  rich  autumn  of  his  life,  touched  by  the  inevitable  finger 
of  death,  there  has  passed  from  us  one  whose  name  we  bring  to  this  meeting 
with  a  feeling  akin  to  consecration,  that  we  may  set  it  in  an  appropriate  frame- 
work of  our  own  choosing,  with  fit  expressions  of  truthful  tribute.  Albert 
A\'ashington  Caldwell  is  no  more.  The  visible  earth-form  by  which  we  have 
been  wont  to  recognize  his  presence  with  us  has  passed  away,  his  invisible 
spirit  life,  from  which  we  felt  the  depths  of  his  moral  worth,  has  passed  on- 
ward— the  one  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  its  own  mortality,  the  other  by  the 
mystic  decree  beyond  the  conceptions  of  the  human  mind,  in  its  transit  to 
the  realms  of  spiritual  existences,  of  which  we  can  only  say :  'There  is  no 
death  there.' 

"Our  brother,  whose  death  occurred  on  the  4th  instant,  was  born  in 
Boone  county,  in  this  state,  on  the  i8th  day  of  June.  1845.  a  few  miles  south 
of  the  town  of  Thorntown.  in  a  community  largely  crmposed  of  Quakers, 
whose  form  of  religious  life  and  practice,  we  may  well  presume,  had  much 
influence  in  the  moulding  of  the  ruling  traits  of  his  character.  His  paternal 
ancestors  some  generations  back  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania  to  Nicholas 
county,  Kentucky,  from  which,  about  the  year  1833,  Alexander  Caldwell, 
the  grandfather  of  our  Albert  \A'.,  removed  to  Boone  county,  Indiana,  and 
settled  upon  entered  land  in  an  unbroken  forest  with  his  family,  of  which 
was  one  son,  James  H.  Caldwell,  the  father  of  our  suliject,  and  also  J.  T^. 
Caldwell,  a  younger  brother,  who  were  his  only  children. 

"Albert's  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm.  He  received  his  education 
in  the  neighboring  common  schools  and  at  Thorntown  Academy,  then  a 
flourishing  and  successful  institution.  His  preparatory  law  reading  was  in 
the  office  of  Ray  &  Ritter  at  Indianapolis.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Boone  county,  where  for  a  time  he  practiced,  but  in  the  year  1873  ''^  removed 
to  this  city,  where  he  and  his  brother.  James  L..  formed  the  law  partnership 
of  Caldwell  &  Caldwell,  which  continued  to  the  time  of  his  death. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  733 

"As  a  business  man  he  was  prompt  and  methodical.  As  a  lawyer  he 
was  assiduous,  careful  and  critical,  with  a  ready  apprehension  of  the  points 
of  adversary  or  judge.  But  the  diadem,  the  highest  merit  of  his  life,  public, 
private,  social  and  professional,  was  his  unbending  integrity  and  unfaltering 
coubcientiousness.  As  a  special  judge  on  the  bench,  no  suspicion  of  unjust 
partiality  ever  tainted  his  rulings;  as  a  trial  lawyer,  no  trickery  or  foul 
practice  e\-er  lowered  his  conduct. 

"Another  characteristic  which  marked  his  life  was  his  unassuming  and 
unostentatious  disposition.  He  despised  all  shams,  double-dealing  and  moral 
veneer;  avoided  all  vulgarity  and  buffoonery,  as  he  would  the  fangs  of  a 
cobra.  He  was  an  admirer  of  candor  and  sincerity,  of  which  he  himself 
was  a  genuine  exemplar,  and  when  he  found  one  of  his  own  type  the  affinity 
sealed  an  enduring  friendship.  He  sought  membership  in  none  of  the  popular 
fraternities  of  the  day;  not  because  he  decried  fraternity,  but  because  he 
had  no  time  or  strength  to  share  in  the  wayside  conventionalisms  of  men 
and  because  he  had  no  taste  for  anything  bordering  on  garish  and  spectacular. 
He  stood  aloof  from  clubs  and  coteries,  because  the  attractions  of  his  own 
home  circle,  to  which  he  was  devoted,  filled  all  the  longings  of  his  heart. 
But  let  it  not  be  thought  that  he  was  morose  or  misanthropic,  for  the  grace 
of  good  cheer  and  genial  fellowship  shone  out  in  all  his  intercourse  with 
others. 

"With  this  composition  in  his  nature,  he  could  scarcely  be  otherwise  than 
a  devout  and  unostentatious  religionist.  And  so  he  was.  His  paternal  stock 
were  Presbyterians,  but  his  mother  was  a  Methodist,  and  with  a  mother's 
Bible,  a  mother's  example  and  th.e  depths  of  a  mother's  love,  he  was  earlv 
receptive  of  a  faith  in  the  earnestness  she  had  lived.  In  it  he  was  consistent 
and  steadfast. 

"We  have  written  nothing  new.  This  estimate  of  the  character  of 
Albert  W.  Caldwell  has  already  been  written  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew 
him.  We  would  only  perpetuate  the  writing,  when  time  has  bedimmed  its 
lines.  Conscious  of  its  defects,  your  committee  submits  this  testimonial  for 
your  consideration  and  action. 

R.  P.  Davidson, 
S.  P.  Baird, 
John  D.  Gougar, 
DeWitt  Wilson, 
Charles  E.  Thompson, 
Charles    H.    Henderson, 

Committee." 


734  P'^ST    AND    PRESENT 

James  Lindsev  Caldwell  has  been  an  honored  member  of  the  Lafayette 
h-'r  since  the  vear  1873.  After  finishing  his  literary  education  in  Stockwell 
Ccllegiate  Institute,  he  entered  the  same  office  in  Indianapolis  where  his 
brother  had  previously  studied,  and  after  spending  a  year  there  returned  to 
Lafayette,  where,  during  the  two  following  years,  he  continued  his  studies 
and  researches  in  the  office  of  G.  O.  &  A.  O.  Behm.  a  well-known  law  firm  of 
the  citv.  L'nder  the  direction  of  these  able  lawyers,  the  young  aspirant  for 
professional  honors  made  commendable  progress,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the 
period  indicated  was  duly  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  the  practice  in 
partnership  with  his  brother,  as  noted  in  a  preceding  paragraph.  In  due  time 
his  ability  won  recognition,  and.  backed  by  the  prestige  of  his  partner,  his 
advancement  from  the  beginning  was  steady  and  continuous.  After  a  short 
time  in  the  general  practice  he  was  elected  prosecutor  of  the  criminal  court 
of  Lafayette,  which  position  he  held  until  the  office  was  abolished,  and  later. 
in  1876.  he  was  further  honored  by  being  elected  prosecutor  of  the  twenty- 
third  circuit,  yiv.  Caldwell  proved  an  able  prosecutor,  and  during  his  in- 
cumbency was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  enforce  the  law  and  bring  offenders 
to  justice.  Retiring  from  the  office  with  an  honorable  record  at  the  expiration 
of  his  term,  he  re-entered  the  practice  of  law  with  his  brother,  the  firm  thus 
constituted  building  up  a  large  and  lucrative  business.  Since  the  death  of 
the  senior  partner  of  the  firm,  in  1907,  the  subject  has  conducted  the  busi- 
ness alone,  and  now  has  an  extensive  clientele  which  includes  many  of  the 
best  men  of  Lafayette  and  Tippecanoe  county.  During  the  period  of  his 
practice  in  Tippecanoe  county,  Mr.  Caldwell  has  ever  had  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  his  brother  members  of  the  bar  and  of  the  community  at  large. 

Kate  Baker,  to  whom  ]\Ir.  Caldwell  was  married  on  the  21st  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1884.  is  a  daughter  of  Doctor  ^Moses  and  Elizabeth  (Skinner)  Baker, 
the  father  for  many  years  a  prorninent  physician  and  surgeon,  and  in  his  day 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  his  profession  (see  sketch  in  following 
paragraph).  William  Skinner,  father  of  Mrs.  Baker,  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
settlers  of  Tippecanoe  county,  and  in  an  early  day  served  as  sheriff,  being 
one  of  the  first  men  to  fill  that  office.  Mrs._  Caldwell  was  educated  at  Stock- 
well  Collegiate  Institute  and  Purdue  University  and  is  a  lady  of  fine  mind, 
rare  intellectual  endowments  and  beautiful  character.  She  has  borne  her 
husband  one  child,  a  daughter,  Mary  Louise,  who  received  her  preliminary 
mental  discipline  in  the  schools  of  Lafayette  and  then  entered  Dana  Hall, 
Massachusetts,  an  institution  for  the  higher  education  of  young  women,  from 
which  she  was  graduated  in  due  time. 

In  his  political  associations.  Mr.  Caldwell  is  a  stalwart  Republican,  and 
for  a  number  of  vears  has  been  active  and  influential  in  party  affairs.     He 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  735 

was  elected  niavdr  ut  Lafayette  in  1885  and  served  one  term  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  pubhc,  proving  an  able  and  popular  executive  whu  during  his 
incumbency  made  every  otlier  cnnsidcraticii  subordinate  tn  the  interests  of 
the  municipality.  In  recognition  of  important  political  services  he  was  ap- 
pointed in  1897  postmaster  of  Lafayette  and  held  the  office  fmm  October  of 
that  vear  to  March  1.  jyo6,  during  which  time  the  rural  free  delivery  system 
was  established  throughout  the  county  and  many  other  improvements  for  the 
expeditious  handling  of  the  mails  introduced.  In  the  various  public  positions 
to  which  he  has  been  called,  Mr.  Caldwell  acquitted  himself  creditably,  dis- 
charged his  duty  with  conscientious  fidelity,  and  his  record  as  an  official  as  well 
as  a  citizen  is  eminently  honorable  and  above  the  suspicion  of  reproach.  In 
matters  religious  he  is  a  faithful  and  consistent  member  of  the  Alethodist 
Episcop-l  chrrch,  with  whicli  h-dy  h.i5  wife  and  daughter  are  al.^o  identified. 
■He  is  a  Knight  Templar  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Re\'olution,  his  daughter  being  enrolled  among  the  Daughters  of  tlie  American 
Re\olution. 

Dr.  Moses  Baker,  father  of  Mrs.  James  L.  Caldwell,  was  born  at  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  January  29,  1823,  came  with  his  parents  to  Stockwell,  Indiana, 
when  a  child  of  eight  years,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  long  and  useful 
life  as  a  practitioner  of  medicine  and  surgery  within  its  boundaries.  His 
education  was  obtained  in  the  pul)lic  schools  of  the  time  and.  being  a  zealous 
student,  he  progressed  rapidly.  After  choosing  the  medical  profession  as  his 
life  work  he  entered  the  medical  college  at  LaPorte,  Indiana,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1848,  and  in  1852  he  completed  the  prescribed  course  in 
medicine  and  surgery  at  Jefiferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia.  Doctor 
Baker  was  a  skilled  surgeon  as  well  as  physician  and  performed  many  critical 
operations,  notable  among  which  was  one  known  to  the  profession  as  a  case 
of  Caesarian  section,  which  went  down  in  medical  annals  as  most  historic. 
It  would  hardly  be  appropriate  in  a  work  of  this  character  to  enter  into  minute 
details  in  explanation  of  this  wonderful  achievement  in  surgery;  suffice  it  to 
say  that  the  operation  was  undertaken  and  successfully  performed  by  Doctor 
Baker,  who  assumed  the  entire  responsibility  though  many  other  physicians 
were  present.  This  miracle  in  surgical  science  was  successfully  performed, 
and  both  the  mother  and  child  survived  for  many  years  afterward,  the  latter 
a  robust  man  living  today.  This  operation  was  performed  on  the  3d  of 
November,  1880,  upon  Mrs.  Emma  Lucas,  wife  of  Luther  Lucas,  of  Wild 
Cat  Prairie,  near  Stockwell,  in  this  county.  Dr.  Moses  Baker  died  at  his 
home  in  Stockwell,  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  August  16,  1888,  and  was 
mourned  as  a  benefactor  to  his  race. 


736  PAST    AND    PRESENT 


SA^IUEL  BORN. 

In  an  examination  of  the  life  record  of  the  late  Samnel  Born,  it  will 
be  found  that  he  was  the  possessor  of  attributes  that  rendered  him  popular 
with  all  classes  of  citizens  in  Tippecanoe  county,  where  the  latter  part  of 
his  useful  and  influential  life  was  spent,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  man  in 
recent  vears  left  a  more  iiulelijjle  imprint  of  his  sterling  personality  upon 
those  who  associated  with  him  here.  He  was  born  October  21.  1830,  in 
Rhein-Hessen,  Germany,  his  parents  being  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Wolf)  Born; 
they  likewise  were  natives  of  Germany,  and  for  many  years  the  father  was 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  in  general  merchandising  in  the  town 
of  Woerrstadt.  He  was  a  man  of  high  standing  in  his  community  and  one 
and  all  accorded  him  the  sincere  esteem  which  he  justly  deserved.  His 
death  occurred  in  1882,  wdien  he  had  attained  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-five 
years ;  his  devoted  wife,  who  sun-ived  him  but  three  years,  was  then  in  her 
eighty-seventh  year.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  was  Closes 
Born,  whose  entire  life  was  spent  in  the  Fatherland.  He  was  a  dealer  in 
general  merchandise  and  cattle  and  for  some  time  managed  a  farm.  His 
family  comprised  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  Isaac  Wolf,  the  maternal 
grandfather  of  the  subject,  was  born  and  spent  his  entire  life  in  Germany. 
He  reared  six  daughters  and  two  sons  to  lives  of  usefulness,  and  passed  to 
his  reward  admired  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Samuel  Born,  of  this  sketch,  received  a  collegiate  education  in  his 
native  land  and  was  of  great  assistance  to  his  father  in  hisi  various  busi- 
ness enterprises.  Ha\-ing  mastered  the  essential  points  of  the  successful  busi- 
ness man,  the  subject  concluded  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  United  States, 
and,  in  1854,  he  landed  in  New  York  city:  thence  he  went  to  Philadelphia 
where  he  had  friends,  and  a  year  later  he  came  on  west  to  Indiana.  Settling 
in  Waynetown,  he  kept  a  general  store,  dealt  in  grain  and  wool  and  packed 
pork  and  beef  quite  extensively.  He  worked  very  assiduously  at  whatever 
line  of  business  he  embarked  upon,  and  the  result  was  abundant  success.  In 
1866  he  visited  his  relatives  in  Europe,  and  during  the  year  which  he  passed 
in  the  land  of  his  nativity  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  lady  who  be- 
came his  wife.  Accompanied  by  his  bride,  he  returned  to  the  United  States 
in  1867,  and  in  the  following  year  he  settled  permanently  in  Lafayette.  At 
that  time  he  embarked  in  the  grain  business  here  and  continued  to  manage 
the  same  until  1895,  when  he  organized  the  Samuel  Born  Company,  of  which 
he  was  the  president,  his  son  Isa,ac  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  his  sons. 


,<^^^^  ^-L /^^r>^1^ 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  "Jl"] 

]M;\x,  Edward  ami  Alfred,  were  stockholders.  The  company  exported  grain 
and  bnilt  up  a  very  extensive  and  lucrativq  trade.  They  had  two  ware- 
houses and  elevators  in  Lafayette  and  others  at  South  Raub,  Battle  Ground, 
Crane,  Stockwell,  Colfax  and  Dayton,  and  employment  was  afforded  to  about 
seventy-five  persons.  In  1902  the  grain  business  was  disposed  of  and  the 
present  coal  and  ice  business  was  established.  It  has  grown  to  extensive 
proportions,  both  in  coal  and  ice,  a  large,  well-equipped  and  ably-managed 
plant  being  maintained  in  the  manufacture  of  the  latter. 

The  death  of  Samuel  Born  occurred  on  September  9,  1905,  and  the 
business  has  since  been  continued  under  the  name  Samuel  Born  Company, 
comprising  Edward  Born  and  his  mother. 

On  December  2,  1867,  Samuel  Born  married  Therese,  daughter  of  ]\Iax 
and  Minnie  Julia  (Wolf)  Gottscho,  and  six  children  were  born  to  this 
union,  namely:  Max,  Isaac,  Edward,  Alfred,  Jessie  and  Bertha;  the  last 
named  was  the  youngest  and  she  died  when  three  years  of  age.  Max  mar- 
ried Caroline  Dryfus,  who  is  the  mother  of  a  daughter  named  Marion  S. 
Isaac  married  Bertha  Weil  and  they  have  two  children,  Theresa  and  Ferdi- 
nand. Alfred,  the  youngest  son  of  Samuel  Born  and  wife,  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three.  The  home  of  the  senior  Born  was  built  by  him  in  1868  at 
No.  516  North  Sixth  street.  He  and  his  wife  belonged  to  the  Reformed 
Hebrew  congregation  and  he  was  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  synagogue. 
Politically  he  was  a  stanch  Republican,  and  fraternally  he  belonged  to  the 
B'nai  B'rith  (the  Sons  of  the  Covenant),  and  he  was  a  Mason  of  the  Royal 
Arch  degree. 

In  disposition  Mr.  Born  was  kindly,  genial  and  generous,  in  addition 
to  possessing  the  other  qualities  which  wrought  out  for  him  the  prosperity 
and  prominence  which  he  enjoyed.  His  example  w'as  one  well  worthy  to  be 
emulated  by  the  younger  generation ;  but  none  of  his  fellow  citizens  regarded 
him  in  an  envious  manner,  for  he  justly  earned  the  affluence  that  was  his 
portion.  A  due  regard  for  the  rights  of  others  and  a  genuine  desire  to  be 
of  service  to  those  whom  fortune  had  frowned  upon  were  the  secrets  of  his 
popularity  among  his  associates. 


CHARLES   MURDOCK. 

Tippecanoe  county  is  indebted,  perhaps,  more  to  the   IMurdnck   familv 
than  to  anv  other   for   its   wondrous   transformation    to   one  of   the   choicest 
(47) 


738  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

sections  of  the  Hoosier  state,  for  members  of  this  family  have  been  leaders 
in  industrial  and  civic  afifairs  since  the  early  days.  Each,  with  a  tidelity  to 
duty  and  a  persistency  of  i^urpose  peculiar  to  that  class  of  men  who  take 
the  lead  in  large  affairs,  has  performed  well  his  duty  in  all  the  relations  of 
life,  and  while  advancing  their  own  interests  have  not  been  unmindful  of 
the  general  welfare  of  their  fellow  citizens.  Thus  they  rightly  deserve  an 
honored  place  in  the  history  of  this  locality. 

Charles  ]Murdock,  to  a  brief  review  of  whose  interesting  career  the 
reader's  attention  is  directed  in  the  following  paragraphs  and  whose  name 
needs  no  introduction  to  the  people  of  northern  Indiana,  was  born  in  1805 
in  the  city  of  Lafayette,  the  son  of  ^Ir.  and  Airs.  James  Alurdock,  the 
former  a  leading  man  of  affairs  in  this  part  of  the  state  for  many  decades, 
a  complete  sketch  of  whom  is  to  be  found  on  another  page  of  this  work. 

Charles  Murdock's  early  life  was  spent  much  like  that  of  other  youths 
of  his  station  in  life,  principally  in  preparing  himself  for  a  business  career 
by  the  proper  schooling  and  other  early  training.  He  was  placed  in  St. 
Mary's  parochial  school,  where  he  made  a  very  commendable  record  and  laid 
a  broad  and  deep  foundation  for  an  education  which  in  later  years  has  been 
supplemented  by  general  reading  and  by  association  in  the  business  world. 
In  1879  he  went  with  his  parents  to  [Michigan  City,  Indiana,  where  he  re- 
sided while  his  father  was  warden  of  the  penitentiary.  He  was  ncit  satistied 
with  his  preliminary  schooling  and  consecpientLy  took  a  course  in  Xotre  Dame 
University,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1885. 

The  domestic  chapter  in  the  life  of  ilr.  Alurdock  dates  from  September 
26.  1894,  when  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  G.  Lillis,  a  lady  of 
culture  and  refinement,  and  the  representative  of  a  prominent  family  of  Kan- 
sas City,  Missouri.  This  union  has  been  Ijlessed  In-  the  birth  of  two  chil- 
dren, Charles  L.  and  Alary  L. 

^^'hen  the  Merchants  National  Bank  of  Lafayette  was  organized,  Charles 
Alurdock  became  its  cashier,  which  position  he  very  ably  filled  u[)  to  the  time 
of  his  father's  death,  in  Xovemlier.  1908,  when  he  became  president  of  the 
institution,  which  is  one  of  the  soundest  and  most  extensively  patronized 
hanks  in  this  part  of  the  st-'te,  and  he  is  at  this  writing  conducting  its  affairs 
in  a  manner  th;it  stamps  him  as  the  possessor  if  Ijusiness  acumen  and  executive 
ability  of  a  high  order.  He  and  his  brother  Samuel  were  always  closely 
associated  with  their  father  in  all  his  large  and  numerous  business  connections, 
and  the  careful  and  thorough  training  given  them  by  that  wizard  of  finance 
and  captain  of  industry  has  placed  them  in  the  front  rank  of  men  who  con- 
trol large  affairs. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY^    IND.  739 

Cliarles  INlurdock  is  vice-president  of  the  Chicago,  South  Bend  &  Xorth- 
ern  Indiana  Railway  Company;  also  vice-president  of  the  Ft.  \\'ayne  & 
Wabash  Valley  Traction  Company.  Me  is  tre?.surer  of  the  Evansville  ^: 
Southern  Indiana  Traction  Company,  and  he  is  also  vice-president  or  thi 
Lafayette  Loan  &  Trust  Company,  besides  being  interested  in  many  other 
large  affairs,  to  all  of  which  he  gives  his  time  and  energy  in  sucli  a  manner 
as  to  bring  about  the  largest  success. 

Mr.  iVIurdock  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church,  a  liberal  supporter  of 
the  same,  and  is  interested  in  charities  or  whatever  tends  to  the  general  good 
and  tlie  higher  life,  being  broad  in  his  sympathies  and  courteous  in  his  de- 
meanor— in  short,  those  who  know  him  liest  declare  him  to  be  a  worthy  son 


WILLIAM  OTIS   WEAA'ER. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  proprietor  of  the  Weaver  Granite 
Works,  was  born  in  ]\lontpclier,  Williams  county,  Ohio.  November  17,  i860, 
the  son  of  William  and  Lo\ina  (  Steel )  \\"eaver.  both  natives  of  Lancaster, 
I-^ennsylvania.  The  father,  whose  birth  occurred  on  the  25th  day  of  June. 
1822,  is  by  occupation  a  farmer,  and  the  mother,  who  was  born  April  15.  1826, 
is  descended  from  a  long  line  of  agriculturists  who  figured  in  the  history 'of 
Lancaster  county  from  a  very  remote  period.  William  and  Lmina  Weaver 
have  spent  their  married  life  in  Williams  county,  Ohio,  where  he  still  re- 
sides, and  where  were  born  their  ten  children,  with  whom  they  constitute  a 
family  circle  into  which  as  yet  the  Angel  of  Death  has  made  no  invasion  witli 
the  exception  of  the  mother.  The  descendants  of  this  veneralile  couple,  in 
addition  to  their  five  sons  and  five  daughters,  consists  of  forty-five  grand- 
c'-"'l''rcn.  fiftv  <Tre''t-!?Ta'idchil(l'-cr  .nnd  ore  greit-,<?;'-c-'t-9Tapdchild.  a  fotnl 
of  one  hundred  and  six.  a  number  seldom  equaled  in  these  late  days  when 
families  are  not  so  large. 

\\'illiam  O.  Weaver  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  the  Xorthern 
Indiana  Normal  University  at  A'alparaiso.  and  began  life  in  the  mercantile 
business  at  Bryan.  Ohio,  'vhere  he  sold  dry  goods  for  a  periocl  of  four  years. 
He  was  next  engaged  with  a  monument  firm  at  Corning.  New  York,  and 
after  five  years  there  as  a  salesman  embarked  in  the  same  line  of  business  for 
himself  at  ^fontpelier,  Ohio,  where  he  built  up  a  lucrative  trade  and  in  due 
time  became  the  leading  dealer  of  the  kind  in  the  city,  .\fter  about  twelve 
years  at  Montpelier  he  sold  out,  and  in  1902  came  to  Lafavette,  Indiana,  and 
again  engaged    in   the   granite   and   marble   business,    going   into   partnership 


740  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

with  William  \\".  Darby,  whose  interest  he  purchased  two  years  later,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  sole  proprietor  of  one  of  the  largest  and  best  equipped 
establishments  of  the  kind  in  northern  Indiana.  His  place  of  business  is  on 
the  corner  of  Eighth  and  I\Iain  streets,  where  he  carries  a  full  line  of  monu- 
ments, both  marble  and  granite,  and  is  prepared  to  do  all  kinds  of  work  in  his 
line  with  neatness  and  dispatch. 

Mr.  Weaver  does  all  his  lettering  and  fine  carving  with  pneumatic  tools, 
operated  by  power,  and  to  him  belongs  the  credit  of  introducing  this  new 
and  highly  improved  system  of  work  in  Lafayette,  where  it  has  gradually 
superseded  the  old  hand  process.  He  is  also  the  only  man  in  Tippecanoe 
countv  who  builds  mausoleums,  his  achievements  in  this  line  as  well  as  in  the 
general  monument  trade  giving  him  a  wide  reputation  and  bringing  to.  him 
a  steadily  growing  patronage  not  only  in  his  own  city  and  county,  but  in 
many  parts  of  Indiana  and  neighboring  states.  He  is  a  skillful  artist  and, 
being  familiar  with  every  detail  of  the  business  in  which  engaged,  his  suc- 
cess has  been  commensurate  with  his  energy  and  judicious  management,  and 
he  today  ranks  among  the  enterprising  men  and  public-spirited  citizens  of 
the  city  which  he  has  chosen  for  his  permanent  place  of  abode. 

On  November  13,  1884,  Mr.  Weaver  was  united  in  the  bonds  of  wed- 
lock with  Clara  E.  Kelso,  of  Walla  Walla,  Washington,  daughter  of  John 
and  ^lartha  Kelso,  the  father  a  successful  fruit  grower  of  that  state  and  a 
leading  and  well  known  citizen  of  the  beautiful  valley  in  which  he  lives. 
Mrs.  Wea\-er  liore  her  husband  three  children  and  departed  this  life 
March  4,  1892,  and  on  November  10,  1897,  the  subject  contracted  a  marriage 
with  Anna  M.  Neff,  the  union  being  blessed  with  two  offspring. 

Paul  Kelso  Weaver,  the  subject's  oldest  child  by  his  first  wife,  was  born 
December  18,  1886,  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Lafayette 
and  Purdue  University,  standing  among  the  first  of  his  class  in  the  electrical 
course.  He  is  now  connected  with  the  signal  service  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company  with  headquarters  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

Steel  M..  the  second  of  the  family,  was  bom  October  12,  1888.  grad- 
uated from  the  high  school  of  Walla  Walla.  \\'ashingtnn.  in  1907.  and  foi 
some  time  past  has  be°n  in  Phoenix,  Arizona,  on  account  of  his  health. 

Carlton  H.,  whose  birth  occurred  on  March  8.  1891,  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Lafayette  and  is  now  learning  the  drug  business  with  the  Hogan 
Drug  Company  of  this  city.  The  children  born  of  Mr.  Weaver's  second 
marriage  are  Helen  and  Catherine,  aged  six  and  four  years  respectively,  both 
bright  and  interesting  and  adding  much  to  the  happiness  of  the  home  circle. 

On  state  and  national  issues  Mr.  Weaver  is  a  Republican,  but  in  matters 
local  he  is  liberal,  voting  for  the  candidates  best  qualified  for  the  oftices  to 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  741 

which  they  aspire,  regardless  of  party  ties.  He  is  a  Methodist  in  his  rehgious 
faith,  and  with  his  family  belongs  to  the  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
Lafayette,  to  the  support  of  which  he  is  a  liberal  contributor.  A  man  of  strong 
individuality  and  well  endowed  mentality,  Mr.  Weaver  enjoys  to  a  marked 
degree  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  people  of  his  city  and  as  a  citizen  is 
in  touch  with  all  enterprises  and  movements  having  for  their  object  the 
advancement  of  the  comnuniity  and  the  welfare  of  his  fellowmen.  Affable 
in  manner,  kind  in  word  and  deed,  he  has  made  many  warm  friends  since 
coming  to  Lafayette  and  his  popularity  is  bounded  only  by  the  limits  of  his 
acquaintance. 


JEREML\H  PHILIP  KOOXSE.  M.  D. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  hailed  from  the  state  concerning  which  Chaun- 
cey  Depew  in  one  of  his  after-dinner  speeches  paraphrased  Shakespeare  as 
follows :  "Some  men  are  born  great,  some  achieve  greatness,  and  some  come 
from  Ohio."  He  was  born  April  24,  1837,  in  the  old  city  of  Wells ville.  which 
for  a  number  of  years  previous  had  been  the  home  of  his  parents,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Philip  Koonse,  natives  of  Pennsylvania,  being  one  of  a  family  of  five 
children.  After  laying  the  foundation  of  his  intellectual  training  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  town,  young  Koonse  pursued  his  studies  in  other  institutions  of 
a  higher  grade  and  after  reaching  the  years  of  manhood  added  still  further 
to  his  scholastic  knowledge  by  attending  from  time  to  time  various  colleges 
in  his  own  and  other  states.  With  this  excellent  preparation,  he  engaged  in 
educational  work,  teaching  for  some  time  in  the  schools  of  Wellsville,  Ohio, 
and  as  principal  of  the  high  school  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  later  moving  to 
Williamsport,  Indiana,  where  he  was  afterward  elected  superintendent  of  the 
public  schools  of  Warren  county.  The  Doctor  earned  an  enviable  record  as 
a  teacher,  but,  not  caring  to  devote  his  life  to  the  work,  he  selected  medicine 
as  the  profession  best  suited  to  his  taste  and  inclination.  Beginning  his  pro- 
fessional studies  in  Philadelphia,  he  was  in  due  time  graduated  from  a  well- 
known  medical  college  of  that  city,  after  which  he  located  at  Lafayette  and 
snon  built  up  a  lucrative  practice  and  acquired  an  honorable  standing  among 
the  leading  physicians  of  this  part  of  the  state. 

After  devoting  some  time  to  the  general  practice  Doctor  Koonse  turned 
his  attention  to  several  special  lines  of  treatment,  in  connection  with  which  he 
also  made  a  critical  study  of  drugs  and  their  effects  upon  the  human  system, 
his  researches  enabling  him   to  discover  specifics  and   remedies    for   certain 


742  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

chronic  diseases  and  ruinous  practices,  n(;itably  the  morphine  haJjit.  in  tlie  treat- 
ment of  which  he  met  with  remarkable  success.  Doctor  Koonse  was  always 
a  student  and  his  various  discoveries  resulted  in  untold  good  to  suffering 
humanity.  Indeed  he  was  properly  called  a  benefactor  of  his  race,  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  hundreds  of  hopelessly  afflicted  mortals  through  the  effect  of  his 
remedies  were  redeemed  from  body-polluting  and  soul-degrading  habits  and 
restored  to  their  normal  strength  and  vigor.  He  died  April  17,  1906,  and  in 
his  death  the  entire  community  suffered  a  distinct  loss. 

Virginia  Fillinger,  wife  of  Doctor  Koonse,  was  born  June  i,  1845,  near 
Richmond,  Virginia,  being  the  third  of  eight  children  in  the  family  of  Henry 
and  Nancy  Fillinger,  of  whom  two  of  her  brothers  and  two  sisters  are  still 
living.  The  marriage  of  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Koonse,  which  was  solemnized  at 
Bowling  Green,  Indiana,  on  the  2d  day  of  August,  1863,  was  blessed  with 
three  offspring,  Emma,  the  oldest,  whose  birth  occurred  July  27,  1870,  dying 
when  two  years  of  age.  Harry  E.  Koonse,  the  second  of  the  family,  who  was 
born  June  12,  1872,  received  his  educntion  in  Lafayette,  and  is  now  one  of 
the  citv's  most  efficient  decorators.  Alice  \".,  the  youngest  of  the  Doctor's 
children,  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  Edgar  E.  Ouivey,  a  dentist  of  Fort  Wayne, 
was  born  on  the  7th  day  of  August,  1874. 

Mrs.  Koonse  is  a  lady  of  wide  intelligence,  varied  culture  and  strong 
character  and  nobly  assisted  her  husband  in  all  of  his  endeavors,  and  much 
of  his  success  was  due  to  her  judicious  counsel  and  advice.  She  is  a  reader 
and  observer,  keeps  in  touch  with  the  trend  of  events,  is  deeply  interested 
in  all  lines  of  educational  work,  and  the  various  charitable  and  humanitarian 
enterprises  and  projects  of  the  city  find  in  her  a  w-arm  sympathizer  and 
able  and  liberal  helper.  She  retains  to  a  marked  degree  her  bodily  and  mental 
faculties,  possesses  a  verv  retenti\'e  memory  and.  although  past  her  sixty-fifth 
year,  her  sense  of  sight  is  such  that  she  has  never  resortetl  to  the  use  of 
glasses.  Doctor  Koonse  was  a  memlier  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
of  Lafayette,  and  the  deep  interest  he  manifested  in  all  good  work,  ga\-e  him 
a  strong  and  wholesome  influence  in  religious  circles.  Mrs.  Koonse  is  an 
earnest  worker  of  the  same  church.  Socially  she  is  esteemed  and  her  home. 
at  Xo.  1 1 14  North  Twelfth  street,  is  a  favorite  resort  of  many  of  the  best 
people  of  the  city. 


REV.  GEORGE  MICHAEL  SCHUMM. 

Forty-three  years,  or  largely  over  a  generation,  is  a  long  time  to  devote 
to  anv  one  calling.  Init  this  measures  the  period  of  the  ministry  of  the  popular 
nastor  of  St.  James  German  Lutheran  church  of  Lafayette.     It  has  been  a 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  743 

hard-working  career,  tilled  with  the  usual  disappdintnients  that  mark  all  hu- 
man effort,  but  there  is  much  along  the  way  to  show  that  the  labors  of  this 
good  man  have  not  been  in  vain.  His  work  at  Lafayette  alone,  if  there  were 
nothing  else  to  his  credit,  would  be  enough  to  stamp  ^Nlr.  Schumm  as  a 
fruitful  worker  in  his  Master's  vineyard.  The  family  is  of  German  origin. 
George  Scliumm,  the  elder,  emigrated  from  Wurttemberg,  Germany,  at  a 
period  so  early  as  to  rank  with  the  pioneers  of  Ohio,  his  settlement  in  \'an 
Wert  county  occurring  as  far  back  as  1838.  He  owned  over  three  hundred 
acres  of  land  at  one  time  and  was  one  of  the  influential  citizens  in  his  section 
of  the  Buckeye  state.  He  married  Mary  Pflueger,  by  whom  he  had  thirteen 
children,  the  survivors  being  as  follow's :  Frederick,  a  farmer  of  Mercer 
county,  Ohio;  Louis,  a  lumberman  of  Laporte,  Lidiana;  Henry,  occupant  of 
the  old  home  farm,  and  Martin,  a  resident  of  Xew  York  city.  George  j\L 
Schumm.  the  other  child  belonging  to  the  list  of  survivors,  was  born  in 
\'an  Wert  county,  Ohio,  December  20,  1841.  He  was  reared  on  the  farm 
and  learned  hi.w  to  handle  the  hoe,  swing  the  sc_\the,  use  the  ax  with  skill  and 
do  all  the  other  things  expected  of  a  farmer's  boy.  The  education  proved 
useful  in  many  ways,  chiefly  by  strengthening  his  constitution  and  teaching 
him  how  to  do  useful  things.  He  got  a  good  academical  education  in  the 
parochial  school  of  his  religious  denomination  and  after  his  confirmation  in 
1856  entered  the  German  Lutheran  College  at  Ft.  Wa)ne.  Three  years  were 
spent  in  this  institution,  followed  by  a  four-year  course  at  Concordia  Univer- 
sity in  St.  Louis.  His  graduation  from  this  institution  in  1865  was  almost 
coincident  with  h.is  entrance  into  the  ministry,  as  he  began  pastoral  work  in 
the  same  )ear,  which  has  continued  up  to  the  present. 

In  1807  Mr.  Schumm  married  Amelia  iNlarkworth.  of  Perry  county, 
Missouri,  by  whom  he  had  three  children,  Martha,  Adolph,  foreman  of  the 
testing  department  of  an  electrical  establishment,  and  Emma,  wife  of  Paul 
Wangerin,  of  Lafayette.  Mrs.  Schumm  having  died  in  1872.  ]\Ir.  Schumm 
was  married  in  1874  to  Charlotte  Breuninger,  by  whom  the  children  are  as 
follows :  Otto  Schumm,  a  minister  at  Brownstown,  Indiana ;  Anton,  a  teacher 
in  the  schools  of  Cleveland,  Ohio ;  George,  a  teacher  in  the  Pittsburg  schools ; 
Bertha,  at  home ;  Paul,  a  student  of  theology  in  St.  Louis.  The  mother  died 
in  1905.  Mr.  Schumm  took  charge  of  St.  James  Lutheran  church  of  Lafay- 
ette. ^L^y  15,  1889,  and  great  growth  has  marked  the  intervening  period.  At 
the  date  mentioned  there  w^ere  eighty  voting  members  and  three  hundred 
communicants,  which  have  been  increased  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  vot- 
ing members  and  five  hundred  and  ninety  communicants.  Bv  virtue  of  his 
oflice  as  pastor,  Mr.  Schuium  is  superintendent  of  the  parochial  schools  con- 


744  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

ducted  by  his  denomination,  which  estabUshments  have  on  an  average  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  pupils,  under  two  teachers.-  The  church  itself  has 
various  auxiliary  organizations,  including  the  Ladies'  Society,  the  Young 
People's  Society  and  the  Young  Ladies"  Society.  In  every  way  the  church 
work  has  ad\-anced  under  Mr.  Schumm  and  St.  James  enjoys  high  standing. 


HON.   AMOS   WELCH. 

The  family  of  this  name  are  descended  from  a  line  of  North  Carolina 
Quakers,  who  refused  to  bow  the  knee  to  Baal,  in  the  shape  of  hmnan  slavery, 
got  into  hot  water  as  a  result  and  eventually  had  to  emigrate  North  to  escajie 
the  persecutions  of  Southern  fire-eaters.  They  were  a  sturdy  race,  always 
on  the  right  side  of  all  moral  questions,  firm  in  their  convictions  and  true 
to  their  principles.  John  \Yelch,  one  of  the  old  timers  in  North  Carolina, 
was  born  in  the  eighteenth  century  in  Wales,  but  went  South  with  other 
members  of  the  society  of  Friends,  who  sought  a  residence  in  the  Old  North 
state,  before  the  slavery  question  became  acute.  Turner  Welch,  a  son  of 
John,  was  born  in  Guilford  county.  North  Carolina,  February  i6,  1790,  and 
after  he  grew  up  studied  and  practiced  medicine  in  his  native  community. 
At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian  war  in  Florida  he  served  as  a  surgeon  in 
the  army  and  afterwards  migrated  to  Warren  county,  Ohio,  where  he  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  his  profession.  August  23,  1819,  he  married  Esther, 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Fallis,  a  native  of  England,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  during  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  settled  first  in 
Virginia,  but  later  came  to  Ohio,  where  he  built  the  first  mill  ever  erected  in 
Wayne  county.  In  the  spring  of  1836,  Doctor  Welch  brought  his  wife  and 
five  children  to  Tippecanoe  county  and  settled  at  West  Point.  He  pur- 
chased a  lot  of  Wayne  township  land,  and  for  two  years  did  some  farming 
while  keeping  up  his  professional  duties.  His  wife  became  so  dissatisfied 
with  the  isolated  and  discouraging  conditions  that  the  Doctor  yielded  to  her 
entreaties  to  return  to  the  old  Ohio  home,  where  he  resumed  medical  practice 
and  gradually  built  up  a  large  business.  In  1846,  the  outlook  in  Tippecanoe 
county  having  somewhat  improved,  he  came  back  to  West  Point  and  con- 
tinued the  practice  of  medicine  until  his  death,  in  1875.  His  wife  sui^dved 
him  two  years,  passing  away  in  1877  at  what  the  obituary  writers!  would 
designate  as  a  "ripe  old  age,"  being  in  her  eighty-sixth  year.  This  ex- 
cellent pioneer  couple  are  still  remembered  for  their  sterling  qualities,  and 


AMOS  WELCH 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  745 

high  moral  character.  Tliey  were  active  members  of  the  society  of  l*"riends, 
devoted  to  practical  charity  and  all  good  works,  with  the  result  that  they 
enjoyed  not  onh'  the  respect  but  affection  of  all  who  knew  them. 

Amos  Welch,  youngest  of  the  eight  children  of  his  parents,  was  born 
in  \\'ayne  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  April  i6,  1838.  He  was 
eight  years  old  when  his  father  returned  to  West  Point  for  permanent  resi- 
dence, and  he  grew  up  on  the  farm  with  all  the  experiences  of  pioneer 
boys.  He  enjoyed  but  limited  opportunities  of  going  to  school,  all  his  edu- 
cation being  obtained  by  daily  intercourse  with  his  fellowmen,  with  an  oc- 
casional visit  to  farmers'  institutes  and  other  such  gatherings.  He  remained 
with  his  parents  during  their  old  age,  caring  for  their  health  and  looking 
after  their  comfort  until  the  time  of  their  respective  deaths.  [March  20.  1877, 
he  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Sherry,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Tippe- 
canoe county.  Born  in  Bourbon  county,  Iventucky,  in  1799,  a  son  of  Hugh 
Sherry,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  taken  in  childhood  to  Ohio,  where 
his  parents  found  a  home  in  Ross  county  during  the  remainder  of  their 
lives.  John  Sherry  came  to  Tippecanoe  county  in  1828,  entered  a  consider- 
able tract  of  land  and  was  engaged  in  farming  during  the  rest  of  his  days. 
He  also  owned  and  conducted  a  saw  and  grist-mill,  being  one  of  the  first 
millers  of  the  county,  and  in  the  performance  of  his  double  occupations  he 
spent  an  industrious  life,  until  called  away  by  death  in  April,  1857.  Two 
children  were  born  to  this  union,  both  deceased.  Mr.  Welch  owns  one  of 
the  best  farms  in  the  township  and  has  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the 
best  farmers.  He  has  been  prominent  in  politics  as  a  local  Republican  leader 
and  consulted  as  a  safe;  advisor  in  all  party  movements.  He  served  one 
term  in  the  state  legislature  in  1895  and  gave  entire  satisfaction  to  his  con- 
stituents by  his  sensible  way  of  attending  to  business.  He  is  a  man  of 
honesty  and  integrity,  a  worthy  descendant  of  his  good  Quaker  parents,  and 
no  man  stands  higher  in  the  community  as  a  neighbor  and  citizen. 


ALBERT  EUGENE  SHEARMAN. 

This  well  known  and  highly  respected  resident  of  Lafayette  has  been 
honored  with  distinctive  preferment  in  various  lines  of  activity  and  as  a 
citizen  ranks  among  those  whose  value  and  worth  to  the  comniunitv  cannot 
be  lightly  estimated.  For  many  years  identified  with  the  material  interests 
and  advancement  of  his  adopted  city,  he  has  filled  with  marked  abilitv  posi- 


746  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

tior.s  of  l:or.oi"  and  trust  r.r.d  as  a  representative  >  f  an  important  brancli  of  thi 
government  service  still  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  public  view  as  well 
as  in  the  esteem  and  contidence  of  the  people  with  whom  he  is  brought  into 
contact. 

Albert  E.  Shearman  is  a  nati\e  of  Oneida  county,  Xew  York,  and  belongs 
to  one  of  the  old  and  widely  known  families  of  that  part  of  the  Empire  state, 
another  representative  of  the  same  family  being  the  Hon.  James  Schoolcraft 
Sherman,  a  statesman  of  distinguished  ability  and,  since  Alarch,  1909,  the 
honored  A'ice-President  of  the  United  States,  who  is  a  nephew  of  the  subject. 

W'illett  H.  Shearman,  father  of  the  subject,  was  born  Januarv  31.  1792. 
at  South  Kingston,  Rhode  Island,  and  by  occupation  was  a  farmer  and  manu- 
facturer. By  his  first  wife,  Catharine  Ann  Schoolcraft,  a  native  of  Xew  York 
state  and  a  daughter  of  Col.  Lawrence  Schoolcraft,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, he  had  eight  children,  and  his  second  marriage,  which  was  solemnized 
with  Emily  Church,  of  Oneida  county,  resulted  in  a  like  number  of  children, 
his  family  of  si.xteen  children  consisting  of  seven  daughters  and  nine  sons. 
of  whom  the  following  survive:  Helen  M.  Shearman,  of  Allendale.  Xew 
Jersey,  who  has  reached  the  age  of  eighty-two  years ;  ^lesdames  Josephine 
Foote  and  Angeline  Sullivan,  twins,  who  haxe  passed  the  seventieth  milestone 
on  life's  journey;  Eben  R.  Shearman,  aged  sixty-five,  who,  with  the  two  sisters 
mentioned,  lives  in  Elgin,  Illinois,  he  being  connected  with  the  watch  factory 
in  that  city;  Albert  E.,  who  is  next  to  the  youngest,  the  youngest  survivor  of 
the  large  circle  that  formerly  gathered  around  the  parental  hearthstone. 
Willett  H.  Shearman  died  in  1868,  at  the  age  of  nearly  seventy-seven  years, 
and  his  wife,  Emily,  mother  of  the  suljject,  was  called  to  her  final  rest  in  the 
same  year,  her  age  at  the  time  of  her  tlemise  being  about  sixty-two  years. 

Albert  E.  Shearman  was  born  in  the  town  of  A'ernon,  Xew  York.  July 
16,  1842,  and  spent  his  early  life  in  his  native  county,  devoting  the  years  of 
his  boyhood  and  youth  to  the  practical  duties  of  the  farm  and  attending  the 
public  schools  at  intervals  in  the  meantime.  His  educational  privileges  in- 
cluded the  usual  studies  of  the  schools  of  Vernon  and  an  academic  course  at 
the  same  place,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  began  teaching,  which  he  fol- 
lowed until  his  twentieth  year,  when  he  exchanged  the  school  room  for  the 
more  active  and  strenuous  duties  of  army  life.  His  military  experience  began 
in  August.  1862,  with  his  enlistment  from  Rome,  X'^ew  York,  in  Company  A. 
One  Hundred  and  Seventeenth  Regiment  Xew  York  A'olunteer  Infantry, 
under  Capt.  George  W.  Brigham,  who  was  subsequently  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Drury's  Blufif,  the  commander  of  the  regiment  being  Col.  William  R. 
Pease,  formerly  a  captain  in  the  United  States  regular  army  and  an  ofiicer  of 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  747 

great  bravery  and  daring.  Air.  Shearman  was  with  his  regiment  in  some  of 
the  most  noted  campaigns  in  the  siege  of  Fort  Sumter  along  the  Potomac, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond,  and  shared  with  his  comrades  the  horror 
of  battle  on  a  number  of  bloody  fields,  including  the  engagement  of  Chapin."s 
Farm,  and  the  almost  continuous  fighting  which  took  place  ere  the  final  sur- 
render of  the  Confederate  forces  and  the  collapse  of  the  rebellion  at  Appomat- 
tox. In  August,  1864,  while  in  front  of  Petersburg,  ^iv.  Shearman  was 
severely  wounded  in  the  left  leg  by  the  fragment  of  a  shell  and  on  another 
occasion  he  received  a  painful  though  not  serious  injury  by  being  struck  in 
the  side  by  a  musket  or  rifle  ball,  and  on  the  29th  of  September,  1864,  while 
in  front  of  the  Confederate  capital,  he  had  the  misfortune  of  falling  into  the 
liands  of  the  enemy  and  for  some  time  thereafter  was  incarcerated  in  Libby 
prison,  being  sent  from  there  to  Belle  Isle,  and  later  to  Salisbury,  North 
Carolina,  spending  about  six  months  in  these  prisons  ere  his  exchange  was 
effected. 

Mr.  Shearman  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  at  Albany.  New  York, 
in  June,  1865,  and,  returning  home  in  a  weakened  condition  resulting  from 
his  prison  experience  and  injuries,  he  suffered  greatly  during  the  several 
months  ensuing, — indeed  his  recovery  was  despaired  of  by  his  relatives  and 
friends  who  did  everything  within  their  power  to  minister  to  his  comfort. 
In  due  time,  however,  thanks  to  a  naturally  strong  constitution,  he  regained 
his  normal  vigor  and  as  soon  as  practicable  thereafter  entered  Eastman's 
Commercial  College  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  where  he  completed  the 
full  course  and  fitted  himself  for  an  active  business  career,  to  which  his  sub- 
sequent life  has  been  devoted.  Coming  to  Lafayette,  Indiana,  in  the  fall  of 
1866,  he  accepted  the  position  of  cashier  in  the  Wabash  railroad  freight  office, 
and  after  two  years  in  that  capacity  entered  the  employ  of  the  Monon  railroad, 
with  which  he  continued  for  a  period  of  eighteen  years,  three  of  which  were 
spent  in  Chicago  as  agent,  his  headquarters  the  remainder  of  the  time  being  in 
Lafayette. 

Severing  his  connection  with  the  Monon  in  1886,  Mr.  Shearman  again 
entered  the  service  of  the  Wabash  road,  and  during  the  ensuing  four  years 
was  an  agent  on  the  National  Dispatch  line  of  fast  freight  at  Chicago.  Re- 
signing the  position  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  indicated,  he  returned  to 
Lafayette  and  became  assistant  postmaster,  under  B.  ^Vilson  Smith,  which 
place  he  held  four  years,  and  then  entered  the  city  treasurer's  ofBce.  where  he 
liad  an  important  position  during  two  administrations  of  four  years  each,  and 
was  engaged  for  a  third,  but  in  July,  1902,  was  induced  to  return  to  the 
postoffice  where  he  has  since  been  assistant  postmaster,  serving  first  under 


748  PAST    AXD    PRESENT 

James  L.  Caldwell  and.  since  the  expiration  of  his  term,  under  Thomas  W. 
Burt,  the  present  incumbent. 

Mr.  Shearman  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  United  States  postal  service 
for  a  period  of  eleven  years,  during  which  time  he  has  become  familiar  with 
every  detail  of  the  office  and  achieved  an  honorable  reputation  as  an  exceed- 
ingly capable  and  judicious  official,  enjoying  to  a  marked  degree  the  confi- 
dence of  his  superior  and  the  esteem  of  the  public.  He  likewise  stood  high 
in  the  regard  of  the  raifi-oad  companies  with  which  he  was  so  long  identified, 
filled  worthily  a  number  of  important  trusts  while  in  that  branch  of  service 
and  his  record  in  the  various  public  positions  to  which  called  is  above  the 
suspicion  of  reproach  or  dishonor.  Aside  from  his  regular  duties,  he  takes 
an  active  interest  in  military  matters  and  since  1890  has  been  influential 
as  a  member  of  John  A.  Logan  Post.  No.  3.  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  in 
which  he  now  holds  the  title  of  past  commander ;  he  is  also  identified  with 
Encampment  No.  122.  Union  \'eteran  Legion,  being  a  past  colonel,  and 
Tippecanoe  Lodge.  No.  55,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

]Mr.  Shearman,  on  the  6th  of  January,  1875,  was  united  in  the  bonds  of 
wedlock  with  Flora  McKee  Linn,  daughter  of  Austin  P.  and  Olive  (DeVault) 
Linn,  the  father  a  Kentuckian  by  birth,  and  one  of  the  old  settlers,  coming 
here  from  Crawfordsville  in  1827,  a  well  known  banker  and  business  man 
of  Lafavette,  who  died  in  1865.  The  mother  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  who 
came  here  with  her  father,  Lemuel  DeVault,  and  family,  in  1835.  Mrs.  Linn 
died  in  1888.  They  were  both  of  Revolutionary  ancestry.  Mrs.  Shearman  is 
the  only  survivor  of  the  two  children  born  to  this  couple.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Shearman  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but  have  always  been  interested  in 
the  welfare  of  the  young  people  of  their  city,  who  hold  them  in  high  esteem. 

A  man  of  strong  individuality  and  unquestioned  probity,  Mr.  Shearman 
has  attained  a  due  measure  of  success  in  the  affairs  of  life,  and  the  various 
positions  w^ith  which  he  has  been  honored  from  time  to  time  bear  witness  of 
its  ability,  close  application  and  mature  judgment  displayed  in  all  of  his 
undertakings.  A  gentleman  of  quiet  demeanor,  more  meditative  and  thought- 
ful than  given  to  much  speech,  he  is  nevertheless  affable  and  cheerful  in  social 
circles  and,  while  not  especially  seeking  friendships,  he  possesses  the  faculty 
of  drawing  friends  about  him  and  binding  them  to  him  as  with  bands  of  steel. 
His  influence  has  ever  been  exercised  in  behalf  of  right  and  his  career  proves 
that  the  only  true  success  in  this  life  is  that  which  is  accomplished  by  personal 
effort  and  consecutive  industry.  The  record  of  such  a  man  cannot  fail  to  be 
an  inspiration  to  the  young  of  this  and  future  generations  and  it  is  with  much 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  749 

satisfaction  that  the  foregoing  brief  epitome  of  his  career  and  tribute  to  his 
worth  as  a  man  and  citizen  are  accorded  a  place  in  this  voUime. 

The  home  of  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Shearman  is  at  No.  665  Main  street,  where 
Mrs.  Shearman  was  born. 


JOHN  ALLEN  HILL. 

John  A.  Hill,  dealer  in  wall  paper  and  one  of  the  leading  business  men 
cf  Lafayette,  was  born  nine  miles  northwest  of  the  city,  in  Tippecanoe  county, 
May  II,  1865.  His  father,  Aaron  S.  Hill,  a  native  of  Hamilton  county,  Ohio, 
came  to  this  part  of  Indiana  as  early  as  1841  and  later  w-as  engaged  in  the 
railroad  service  for  a  number  of  years  with  the  Wabash  and  Monon  lines. 
He  married  in  this  county  Martha  F.  Jennings,  a  daughter  of  Able  C.  Jen- 
nings, a  prosperous  farmer  and  representative  citizen,  and  in  due  time  became 
the  father  of  four  children,  namely:  \\'illiam  F.,  a  business  man  of  Lafay- 
ette; Carrie  M.,  who  is  single  and  her  father's  housekeeper;  Charles,  deceased, 
and  John  A.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  mother  of  these  children  is 
deceased  and  for  a  number  of  years  the  father  has  been  living  a  retired  life, 
being  the  possessor  of  a  sufficiency  of  th.is  world's  goods  to  place  him  in 
independent  circumstances. 

On  moving  to  Lafayette  in  1864,  Aaron  S.  Hill  accepted  the  position  of 
engineer  with  the  old  Potter,  Daggert  &  Martin  woolen  mills.  Later  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  Sample  pork  house  in  the  same  capacity  and,  as  previously 
stated,  devoted  a  number  of  years  to  railroading.  He  was  a  soldier  during 
the  last  six  months  of  the  Civil  war  in  Company  C,  One  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
Regiment  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  but  by  reason  o"f  ill  health  was  obliged 
to  spend  three  months  in  the  hospital,  consequently  saw  but  little  active  service 
in  the  field. 

When  John  A.  Hill  was  a  year  old,  his  parents  mo\-ed  to  Lafavette  and 
his  early  life  differed  in  no  important  respect  from  that  of  the  majority  of 
city  lads.  He  attended  the  public  schools  about  the  usual  time  and  at  the  age 
of  thirteen  acquired  his  first  knowledge  of  business  afifairs  as  clerk  in  a 
grocery  store.  .After  a  year  or  two  in  that  capacity,  he  entered  the  emplnv  of 
a  stave  manufacturer,  in  whose  factory  he  labored  until  his  eighteenth  vear. 
when  he  engaged  in  the  wall  paper  business  with  William  \'.  Stnv.  whose 
plnce  nil  the  iirrth  side  of  the  public  square  was  the  largest  and  most  importnnt 
establishment  of  the  kind   in   the  citv. 


750  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

January  i,  1900,  Mr.  Hill  started  in  the  same  line  of  trade  tor  himself 
on  the  corner  of  Tenth  and  Main  streets  and  during  the  nine  years  that  he 
has  been  at  the  head  of  the  Cbtablislimeat  his  business  has  grown  rapidly  in 
volume  until  he  is  now  recognized  as  the  leading  wall  paper  dealer  and  deco- 
rator in  Lafayette.  By  strict  attention  to  the  demands  of  the  trade  and  always 
doing  high  grade  work,  his  patronage  has  taken  a  very  wide  range  including 
not  only  the  leading  people  of  his  own  city  but  a  large  and  growing  business 
in  a  number  <:if  other  towns.  This  stead)-  increase  has  rendered  necessary 
the  enlargement  of  his  facilities  from  time  ti)  time  and  additions  to  his  force 
of  workmen  and  clerks,  six  of  whom  are  now  required  to  look  after  the 
interests  of  the  trade  and  do  the  large  amcnmt  of  decorating  which  he  makes 
a  specialty. 

Mr.  Hill  is  a  man  of  retined  tastes  and  as  an  artistic  decorator  has  few 
equals  and  no  superiors.  The  high  standard  of  his  work  is  its  best  recom- 
mendation and  the  chief  advertisement  of  his  establishment  and  the  large 
number  of  fine  homes  in  Lafayette  and  other  cities,  besides  public  halls,  lodge 
rooms,  etc..  here  and  elsewhere,  which  he  has  decorated  antl  beautilied  bear 
eloquent  testimony  to  his  etificiency  and  skill  as  a  master  of  his  craft. 

Mr.  Hill  is  not  only  an  enterprising  business  man  deeply  inte'^ested  in 
the  success  of  the  line  of  trade  to  which  he  is  devoting  his  time  and  attention, 
but  is  also  a  public-spirited  citizen  who  keeps  in  touch  with  the  grnwth  of 
his  city  and  county  and  encourages  all  means  for  the  advancement  of  the 
community,  socially  and  morally.  He  stands  for  law  and  order,  uses  his  in- 
fluence on  the  right  side  of  every  public  issue  and  has  always  had  the  best 
interests  of  his  fellowmen  at  heart.  He  is  an  acti\e  member  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellriws  and  all  of  its  branches:  also  belongs  to  the  .\ncieni 
Order  of  Druids  and  in  politics  is  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  Republicm 
party,  but  not  a  partisan  in  the  sense  of  seeking  office  or  aspiring  to  leu'.er- 
ship.  Religiously,  he  was  reared  under  the  influence  of  the  Christian  clun-cb 
and  still  subscribes  to  the  plain,  simple  teaching  of  that  large  and  growing 
body,  being  an  attendant  of  the  church  in  T,afayette  and  interested  in  tlie  wi  rk 
under  its  auspices. 

On  October  19,  1888,  ^Ir.  Hill  and  Martha  V.  Shores,  of  Xew  \»v]<. 
daughter  of  Dr.  William  F,  and  ;\Iary  Shores,  at  the  time  indicated  residents 
of  Tipton  county,  Indiana,  were  united  in  the  holy  bonds  of  wedlock;  the  union 
being  blessed  with  two  offspring,  a  daughter  who  died  in  infancy  .and  a  son. 
Arnold  H.  Hill,  who  was  born  June  18,  1891,  and  who  is  now  his  father's 
efficient  assistant. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  75 1 

I\Ir.  Hill  is  a  gentleman  ot  pleasing  presence,  and  stands  high  not  only  in 
the  commercial  world  but  in  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  people  of  his 
city,  regardless  of  class  or  condition.  He  has  a  full,  well  developed  atliletic 
figure,  a  frank,  open  countenance,  which,  with  his  affable  manner  and  the 
habit  of  always  looking  on  the  bright  side  of  things,  make  him  an  interesting 
and  welcome  accession  to  the  soci.d  circles  in  which  he  move.--.  Energetic, 
enterprising  and  full  of  business,  he  has  made  his  intiuence  felt  in  the  city 
of  his  residence  and  stands  well  to  tlie  front  among  its  successful  men  and 
representative  citizens. 


JOSEPH  ABDON. 

Among  the  bra\-e  sons  of  ilie  Xorth  who  sacrificed  so  much  during  the 
dark  days  Cif  the  sixties  to  save  the  national  Union  and  thereby  transmit  to 
posterity  a  glorious  Repuljlic — the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the  earth — v.'as 
the  late  Joseph  Aljdon,  a  man  remembered  for  his  genial  disposition  and 
his  high  sense  of  honor,  \\h<  was  Imrn  in  1843  '"  Dearborn  county,  Indiana. 
He  received  a  fairly  gond  cummdn-'^chnol  education  for  those  early  days  and 
assisted  with  the  work  about  the  home  place.  When  he  reached  maturity  he 
engaged  for  the  most  part  in  huckstering  and  as  a  cooper  for  a  livelihood. 
\\'hen  the  Civil  war  began  he  was  quick  to  respond  to  the  call  for  troops  and 
enlisted  in  Company  K,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-third  Regiment  Indiana 
Vi;lunteer  Infantry,  and  was  made  corporal.  He  performed  well  his  duties 
during  that  great  struggle  and  recei\-ed  an  honorable  discharge. 

Mr.  Abdiin  was  married  to  Airs.  Alar)-  Jane  Kerr  and  to  this  union 
three  chiklren  were  liorn,  one  son  and  two  daughters,  as  follows:  George 
Abdon.  whdse  birth  occurred  August  5.  1866,  married  Clara  \\'eir,  and  he  is 
engaged  as  a  mechanic  in  Fort  \\'ayne,  Indiana:  Eva  Abdon,  born  February  i, 
1873,  is  a  stenographer  and  chief  clerk  at  the  Sterling  Alanufacturing  Com- 
pany's plant  of  Lafayette:  Anna  L.  .\bdon,  born  September  2,  1875,  m^n'ied 
Charles  Bechtold.  Xo  children  were  born  to  them.  She  was  a  high  school 
graduate  and  her  death  occurred  on  September  28,  1896. 

Joseph  Abdon  died  October  26,  1893,  after  an  active  and  useful  life. 

Mrs.  Mary  Jane  Abdon  was  first  married  to  Derrick  Kerr,  wlio  was  bom 
in  Dearborn  county,  Indiana,  the  wedding  occurring  Alav  12,  1850.  One 
son  was  born  of  this  union,  William  D.  Kerr,  whose  vear  of  birth  was  1861. 
He  WPS  educated  in  the  city  schools,  and  he  learned  the  iilumber"s  trade,  which 
lie  now  successfully   follows  in  Lafayette,  bis  place  of  business  being  located 


752  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

on  Union  street.  He  married  Fannie  G.  W'orkhoff,  April  17,  1886,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  two  ciiildren;  one  son,  Albert  Kerr,  born  April  11,  1887, 
is  a  graduate  of  Purdue  University  in  .pharmacy :  the  other  child,  Gladys 
Kerr,  is  now  (1909)  fourteen  years  old  and  is  making  a  good  record  in  the 
public  schools. 

Derrick  Kerr  was  also  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army,  having  enlisted  in 
defense  of  the  flag  early  in  the  war,  in  Company  D,  in  an  Indiana  regiment. 
His  death  occurred  in  Alay,  1862,  while  he  was  on  his  way  home  from  the 
front,  dying  in  a  St.  Louis  hospital  of  the  measles. 

Airs.  Abdon  lives  in  a  neat  and  comfortable  home  at  Xo.  13 14  Green- 
bush  street,  Lafayette.  Although  she  is  a  woman  who  has  known  sorrow  and 
has  done  much  hard  work,  she  is  uncomplaining,  optimistic  and  of  comely 
personal  appearance.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  as  are  also  her  children,  and  she  receives  a  pension  of  twelve  dollars 
per  month.  This  family  stand  high  among  their  neighbors,  having  always 
borne  reputations  exemplary  in  every  respect. 


JOHN  W.  SKINNER. 

He  to  whom  this  sketch  is  dedicated  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  oldest 
and  most  honored  pioneer  families  of  Tippecanoe  county,  and  there  is  par- 
ticular interest  attached  to  a  study  of  his  life  record,  owing  to  the  fact  he  has 
forged  his  way  to  the  front  by  reason  of  an  innate  ability  and  personal  char- 
acteristics that  seldom  fail  to  win  the  goal  sought. 

John  W.  Skinner,  the  popular  ex-commissioner  of  Tippecanoe  county, 
is  a  native  of  the  same,  having  been  Ixirn  in  Lauramie  township.  September 
9,  1855,  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Eliza  (Conarroe)  Skinner,  the  former  a 
native  of  Hamilton  county,  Indiana,  where  his  birth  occurred  in  181 1.  He 
came  to  Tippecanoe  county  about  1829  and  pla^xd  well  his  part  in  the  sub- 
sequent development  of  the  locality,  which  was  then  practically  a  wilder- 
ness. He  was  industrious  and  thrifty  and  became  a  well-to-do  farmer  for 
those  days.  He  came  by  this  naturally,  for  he  grew  up  on  a  farm,  and  also 
learned  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  started  with  practically  nothing,  but  en- 
tered one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  from  the  government  at  one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre.  Having  prospered,  he  added  to  this 
until  he  became  the  owner  of  four  hundred  acres,  which  he  managed  in  a 
manner  that  stamped  him  as  a  man  of  soundness  of  judgment  and  he  was 


JOHN  W.  SKINNER 


THOMAS    SKINNER 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  753 

intluential  in  his  community,  lieing  regarded  as  a  man  of  strict  integrity. 
He  remained  on  his  farm  the  rest  of  his  Hfe,  dying  :\Iay  23,  1892.  He  was 
a  Republican  in  politics.  He  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  two  children, 
John  W.  Skinner,  of  this  review,  and  Joseph,  who  died  when  ten  years  of 
age. 

John  W.  Skinner  was  reared  on  his  father's  farm,  where  he  assisted  with 
tlie  work  about  the  place  and  he  quite  naturally  chose  farming  for  his  life 
wijrk.  He  received  a  good  practical  education  in  the  local  common  schools 
and  at  Stockwell. 

Mr.  Skinner  was  married  June  14,  1876,  to  Flora  May  \\'arwick,  who 
was  liorn  in  Tippecanoe  county,  the  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  ^^'arwick. 
The  W'arwicks  have  long  l^een  a  prominent  family  here.  ]\Irs.  Skinner  re- 
ceived a  fairly  good  education  in  the  common  schools  and  she  proved  to  be 
a  very  faithful  and  congenial  helpmeet  to  her  husband,  who  owes  no  little 
of  his  success  to  her  counsel.  Their  home  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  two 
children.  Jesse  R.  and  Roy  L. ;  but  a  deep  gloom  was  cast  over  the  home  in 
1(505  by  the  tragic  death  of  the  latter,  being  a  victim  of  a  railroad  accident. 
The  first  named  son,  a  young  man  of  marked  Inisiness  ability,  is  married 
and  is  making  his  home  with  his  parents.  Airs.  John  \\'.  Skinner  was 
called  to  her  rest  in  1892.  and  in  1894  Mr.  Skinner  was  married  to  Martha 
Ellis,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Tippecanoe  county,  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  John  Ellis,  an  old  and  highly  respected  family.  Mrs.  Skinner  is 
a  woman  of  affability  and  presides  over  her  home  with  a  grace  that  has  won 
hosts  of  warm  friends.  ]\Ir.  Skinner's  second  marriage  has  resulted  in  the 
birth  of  one  child.  Ward  E..  who  is  twelve  years  old  at  this  writing  and  is 
a  bright  and  interesting  lad. 

I\Ir.  Skinner  is  the  owner  of  one  thousand  acres  of  as  valuable  land  as 
can  be  found  in  this  favored  section  of  the  Hoosier  state,  and  none  is  bet- 
ter improved,  for  he  takes  a  delight  in  keeping  hisi  farm  up  to  twentieth 
century  standards.  He  is  an  admirer  of  good  stock  and  has  always  kept  some 
fine  breeds  of  all  kinds,  especially  cattle  and  horses.  His  land  is  easilv  worth 
one  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  Besides  this  farm,  Mr.  Skinner  owns  one- 
fifth  interest  in  two  thousand  five  hundred  acres  of  valuable  timber  land  in  the 
state  of  Mississippi.  He  is  one  of  the  stockholders  in  the  Farmers  and 
Traders'  Bank  at  Lafayette,  in  which  he  is  a  director.  For  the  past  twelve 
years  he  has  not  engaged  in  active  farming,  but  spends  his  time  overseeing 
his  large  interests.  He  makes  his  home  in  Stockwell,  where  he  has  one  of 
the  most  attractive  residences  in  this  localitv,  being  of  beautiful  architectural 
(48) 


754  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

design,  modern  in  every  detail,  elegantly  furnished  and  surrounded  by  well- 
kept  grounds  and  substantial  outbuildings. 

In  politics  Mr.  Skinner  is  a  Republican  and  he  has  long  taken  some- 
thing of  an  active  interest  in  local  party  affairs.  He  was  elected  commis- 
sioner from  the  third  district  and  very  ably  served  in  that  capacity  for  two 
terms,  or  six  years.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  Summit  Lodge,  Knights 
of  Pythias. 

Personally,  Air.  Skinner  is  a  man  whom  it  is  a  delight  to  meet,  court- 
eous, unassuming,  kind  and  generous,  and  while  giving  his  chief  attention 
to  his  business,  he  finds  time  and  opportunity  to  take  an  interest  in  matters 
pertaining  to  the  progress  and  growth  of  his  community,  county  and  state, 
keeping  abreast  of  the  times  in  all  questions  of  vital  import  and  being  re- 
garded by  all  as  a  leader  in  the  locality  honored  by  his  residence. 


FRED  REULE. 


For  a  number  of  years  the  subject  of  this  sketch  has  been  identified  with 
the  business  interests  of  Lafayette,  during  which  he  has  made  for  himself 
a  place  of  honor  in  commercial  and  social  circles,  his  life  being  one  of  signal 
positiveness  and  his  integrity  above  the  suspicion  of  reproach.  As  his  name 
indicates,  Fred  Reule  is  of  Teutonic  ancestry  and  traces  his  family  history 
through  a  long  line  of  antecedents  to  Germany  where  his  parents,  George 
Reule  and  Caroline  Wooster,  were  born  and  reared.  Both  came  to  America 
in  their  youth  and  located  at  Lafayette  where,  in  due  time,  their  marriage 
occured,  the  union  resulting  in  the  birth  of  one  son,  the  subject  of  this  re- 
view, and  two  daughters,  the  older  of  whom,  Caroline,  is  the  widow  of  the 
late  Charles  W.  Warrenburg,  of  Lafayette,  and  the  mother  of  two  children, 
George  B.  and  Clara.  A.  Mary,  the  second  daughter,  is  unmarried  and  lives 
with  her  brother,  whose  home  she  manages  and  to  whose  interest  and  comfort 
she  ministers  in  various  ways.  George  Reule  engaged  in  the  hardware  trade  at 
Lafayette  a  number  of  years  ago  and  was  long  one  of  the  enterprising  and 
successful  business  men  of  the  city.  Honest  and  upright  in  his  dealings  and 
energetic  in  all  of  his  undertakings,  he  built  up  a  lucrative  patronage  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death,  in  1891,  was  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  commercial 
circles  of  the  city,  with  an  honorable  reputation  as  an  intelligent  and 
progressive  citizen.    Mrs.  Reule.  who  sur\'ived  her  husband,  departed  this  life 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  755 

in  1909,  aged  se\-enty-six  years,  five  months  and  some  days,  Mr.  Reule  being 
in  his  fifty-eighth  year  when  called  to  the  unseen  world. 

Fred  Reule,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Lafayette  on  the  21st  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, i860,  was  reared  in  his  native  city,  and  after  attending  the  public 
schools  of  the  same  until  acquiring  a  pretty  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
branches  therein  taught,  took  a  two-years  course  in  a  commercial  college 
with  the  object  in  view  of  fitting  himself  for  a  business  life.  Prior  to  the 
completion  of  his  education,  he  obtained  a  valuable  practical  experience  under 
the  direction  of  his  father,  whose  place  of  business  he  entered  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  and  with  whom  he  continued  until  the  latter's  death,  when  he  entered 
into  the  hardware  business  upon  his  own  responsibility. 

Mr.  Reule's  business  career  has  been  eminently  successful  and  he  is  now 
proprietor  of  the  largest  and  best  known  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the 
city.  The  large  and  well  conducted  building,  which  fronts  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  feet  on  Columbia  street  and  forty-four  feet  on  Second  street,  is  four 
stories  high  with  a  large  basement  and  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  purposes 
for  which  intended,  the  different  floors  being  stocked  with  everything  in  the 
hardware  line,  in  addition  to  which  the  proprietor  deals  extensively  in  farm 
implements  and  machinery,  gas  engines  of  various  types,  buggies  and  other 
vehicles,  harness,  binders,  twine,  cement  and  building  materials,  all  of  which 
he  buys  in  carload  lots  and  disposes  of  both  wholesale  and  retail.  The  entire 
second  floor  of  the  mammoth  establishment  is  stocked  with  the  celebrated 
Columbus  buggies,  which  are  sold  in  large  numbers,  and  he  also  handles  the 
J.  I.  Case  threshers  and  engines,  which  he  purchases  by  the  carload  and  for 
which  there  has  been  a  steadily  growing  demand  during  the  past  eight  or 
ten  years.  He  also  carries  a  full  line  of  fine  office  furniture,  fixtures  and 
many  other  articles  which  the  limits  of  this  brief  sketch  w-ill  not  admit  of 
mention,  his  stock  of  all  kinds  being  full  and  complete,  so  as  to  supply  the 
growing  demands  of  the  trade  and  requiring  to  handle  it  the  services  of  eight 
experienced  salesmen,  besides  an  adequate  force  to  look  after  the  various 
clerical  departments.  In  the  building  up  and  management  of  this  large  and 
far-reaching  enterprise,  Mr.  Reule  deserves  great  credit  and  the  ease  with 
w^hich  every  department  is  conducted  demonstrates  business  ability  of  a  high 
order  and  a  method  and  foresight  as  rare  as  they  are  admirable. 

I\Ir.  Reule  has  never  assumed  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  mar- 
riage relation,  nevertheless  he  maintains  a  beautiful  and  attractive  home  at 
No.  1 1 18  North  street,  where,  as  already  indicated,  his  sister  manages  his 
household  and  looks  after  his  domestic  afifairs,  the  place  being  well  known  to 
the  best  social  circles  of  the  city  and  a  hospitable  retreat  for  the  kindred  spirits 


756  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

who  from  time  to  time  are  accustumed  to  wliile  away  many  pleasant  hours 
with  tlie  kindly  host  and  hostess.  In  his  religious  belief  the  subject  is  a 
Lutheran,  to  which  church  his  ancestors  belonged  and  in  the  truths  «if  which 
he  was  early  trained  by  pious  and  devoted  parents.  He  is  a  liberal  ccmtributor 
to  its  various  lines  of  work  besides  being  a  generous  donor  to  all  charitable 
and  humanitarian  enterprises. 

In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Reule  is  tall,  well  built  and  of  a  pleasing" 
address,  modest  in  manners,  deliberate  in  conversation  and  methodical  in  all 
he  does  and  says.  He  impresses  all  with  whc:m  he  comes  into  contact  as  a 
man  of  intelligence,  good  judgment  and  fdrce — in  brief,  as  a  typical  German- 
American  citizen  of  a  class  to  which  our  country  is  greatly  indebted  for  its 
material  progress  and  social  advancement. 


REV.  -MICHAEL  J.  BYRXE. 

The  popular  pastor  of  St.  Ann"s  has  had  a  varied  career  in  the  priesthood 
and  it  is  only  necessary  to  examine  into  his  achievements  with  his  numerous 
charges  to  find  that  his  life  has  been  one  of  usefulness  and  good  works.  He 
is  of  Irish  origin  and  possesses  all  the  characteristics  of  his  nationality.  His 
father.  Peter  Byrne,  came  from  the  historic  Emerald  Isle  as  far  back  as  the 
earlv  thirties  and  for  a  time  worked  as  a  day  laborer  in  Cincinnati.  While 
there  he  met  and  married  Mary  Hannagan.  an  Irish  girl,  then  a  resident  of 
Newport,  Kentucky.  Shortly  afterward  they  located  in  Butler  county.  Ohio. 
where  Peter  bought  a  small  tract  of  land  from  the  government,  to  which  he 
added  by  subsequent  purchases  until  his  holdings  amounted  to  a  full  section. 
Later  he  removed  to  Lafayette,  where  he  died  in  October,  1906.  at  the  ripe 
old  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  His  six  children  consisted  of  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  are  living.  Michael  J.  is  at  Lafayette;  Dennis  is 
in  the  waterworks  department  at  Chicago:  John  is  a  sergeant  of  police  in  the 
same  citv :  Paul,  who  resides  at  Anderson.  Indiana,  is  employed  with  a 
Chicago  firm:  Catherine  is  a  sister  of  the  Order  <if  Xotre  Dame  ant!  teaches 
at  St.  Xnvier's  in  Cincinnati;  Mary  is  the  wife  of  a  prosperous  blacksmith  at 
Sidney,  Ohio. 

^lichael  J.  Byrne,  eldest  of  the  family,  was  born  in  Butler  county.  Ohio, 
October  18,  1838,  and  remained  on  the  farm  until  the  completion  of  his 
sixteenth  year.  By  this  time  he  had  obtained  sufificient  education  to  teach  and 
after  devoting  a  year  to  this  pursuit  he  obtained  a  life  license  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  but  nnlv  used  it  for  one  more  vear  in  school  work.     .After  a  rear 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTV^    IND.  757 

ill  the  commercial  course  at  St.  Mary's  Institute,  in  Dayton.  Ohio,  he  olnained 
a  degree  in  1876  and  then  entered  the  preparatory  seminary  at  St.  Mary's  in 
Cincinnati.  Remaining  there  until  1S77,  he  spent  the  following  five  years 
at  the  University  of  Niagara  and  was  graduated  in  the  classical  course  in  1883 
with  the  degree  of  blaster  of  Arts.  Tw(_i  years  in  the  philosophical  course  at 
Baltimore  (iMar}-land)  College  gained  for  him  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts  and,  after  finishing  in  theology  at  St.  \'incent's.  Beatty.  Pennsylvania, 
he  was  ordained  June  JQ.  1888.  His  first  work  was  as  assistant  pastor  in 
the  cathedral  at  Ft.  Wayne.  Indiana.  In  1891  he  was  given  pastoral  charge 
of  St.  Mary's  in  East  Chicago,  and  was  the  principal  factor  in  building  the 
present  church  at  that  place.  In  1895  he  was  assigned  to  the  Sacred  Heart 
church  at  Whiting,  Indiana,  and  purchased  the  land  on  which  were  built  the 
church,  St.  Michael's  hall,  the  Sisters'  academy  and  school  and  the  parochial 
residence.  He  also  bought  property  and  built  a  Imuse  and  church  fur  the  first 
Slavonian  parish  in  the  diocese.  Transferred  to  the  cathedral  at  Ft.  Wayne, 
he  remained  there  until  the  condition  of  the  parish  required  his  presence  at 
Union  City,  Indiana,  and  to  that  point  he  was  sent  to  remain  two  years.  In 
1901  he  was  transferred  to  St.  Ann's  in  Lafayette  and  since  then  has  accept- 
ably filled  that  important  charge.  There  has  been  great  progress  binder  Father 
Byrne's  energetic  management.  The  church  building"  has  been  completed, 
additional  property  bought,  many  ini])ni\ements  brought  about,  and  a  new 
residence  constructed  in  1908.  When  he  took  charge,  the  congregation  was 
twelve  thousand  dollars  in  deln.  but  all  nf  this  has  been  paid,  while  the  mem- 
bershi])  has  been  increased  fmm  one  hundred  tn  oxer  fmir  hundred  families. 
Father  Byrne  is  a  menilier  of  the  Ancient  Ortler  of  Hiljernians  and  wa>  direct- 
or during  three  dift'erent  terms.  At  ])resent  he  is  chap<lain  for  the  Indiana 
branch  of  the  order  and  chairman  nf  the  cnmmittee  on  Irish  hist-ry.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Catholic  Knights  of  St.  John,  the  Tippecanoe  countv  board  of 
charities  and  corrections  and  serves  as  a  member  of  the  police  board  without 
pay.  The  congregation  of  St.  Ann's  is  much  attached  to  Father  Byrne,  whose 
kindly  manners,  sympathetic  nature,  readiness  to  help  those  in  need  and  un- 
selfish devotion  to  all  good  causes  ha\-e  endeare<l  him  to  the  whole  population 
of  Lafavette, 


JOSEPH  CHARLES  .VRTHL^R, 

Perhaps  no  department  of  agriculture  in  all  its  numerous  branches  calls 
for  the  exercise  of  higher  science  or  more  delicate  skill  than  that  relating  to 
the  physiology  and  pathology  of  plants.     It  is  comparativelv  a  modern  science 


75^  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

and  while  embraced  under  the  general  head  of  botan)',  has  a  distinctive  twen- 
tieth-century flavor.  The  successful  prosecution  of  such  work  demands  highly 
trained  minds,  educated  by  long  study  both  in  theory  and  practice,  besides 
being  possessed  of  a  natural  adaptability  for  the  pursuit.  In  other  words,  it 
must  be  a  scholar  of  the  first  grade,  with  ability  akin  to  genius,  to  give  the 
best  results  in  what  is  regarded  as  a  department  of  the  first  importance  in  the 
domain  of  agricultural  science  as  applied  to  the  vegetable  world.  Some  de- 
tails concerning  the  accomplished  gentleman  who  tills  this  chair  at  Purdue 
University  will  prove  acceptable  and  interesting.  The  family  is  of  New  York 
origin.  Charles  Arthur,  who  was  a  farmer  and  merchant,  married  Anna 
Allen,  by  whom  he  had  two  children.  Joseph  Charles  Arthur,  the  only  son, 
was  born  at  Lowville,  New  York,  January  ii,  1850,  but  obtained  his  early 
education  in  the  schools  of  Iowa.  Before  reaching  his  majority  he  entered 
the  Iowa  Agricultural  College  at  Ames,  and  was  a  graduate  in  the  first  class 
of  that  institution  in  1872.  His  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science  then  obtained 
was  followed  in  1877  by  the  supplementary  degree  of  Master  of  Science.  His 
subsequent  educational  career  embraced  terms  at  Johns  Hopkins  University 
in  1878-9,  at  Harvard  in  1879,  and  at  Cornell  in  1886,  where  he  obtained 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Science.  During  the  interval  between  the  last  two 
dates  mentioned,  he  was  at  the  experiment  station  at  Geneva,  New  York,  and 
in  1896  he  spent  some  time  at  Bonn  University.  In  1887  he  came  to  Purdue 
University  as  professor  of  vegetable  physiology  and  pathology  and  was  ap- 
pointed botanist  of  the  Indiana  experiment  station  in  1888.  In  1886  he  was 
sectional  secretary  of  the  American  Association  for  Advancement  of  Science, 
assistant  general  secretary  in  1887,  and  vice-president  in  1895.  and  president 
of  the  Botanical  Society  of  America  in  1902.  In  1904  he  was  one  of  the 
principal  speakers  at  the  International  Congress  of  Arts  and  Sciences  at  St. 
Louis.  He  has  held  numerous  important  positions  in  connection  with  various 
learned  societies,  including  the  academies  of  Iowa,  Philadelphia  and  Indiana, 
of  which  last  he  was  president  in  1893.  INIuch  of  his  work  has  been  tlexoted 
to  fungous  diseases  of  cultivated  crops  and  plant  rusts. 

Professor  .^r'hrr  is  a  man  of  nervous  temperament,  f|uick  perception,  a 
hard  and  persistent  worker,  with  the  fine  touch  and  intuiti(in  which  indicate 
the  superior  mind.  He  is  not  inclined  to  talk  much,  but  what  he  says  is 
always  to  the  point  and  any  one  interested  in  his  special  branch  of  knowledge 
after  an  hour's  talk  with  him  will  go  av.ay  feeling  that  he  has  been  greatly 
benefitted.  Professor  Arthur  is  afTable  in  manner,  sincere  in  his  intercourse, 
direct  in  method,  and  a  profound  student  in  the  difficult  branch  of  science  to 
which  he  has  devoted  his  life.     Purdue  University  was  fortunate  in  securing 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY^    IND.  759 

his  services,  and  the  farmtrs  and  market  gardeners  of  Indiana  as  weU  as  all 
others  who  cume  in  contact  with  the  vegetable  world  will  in  thiie  get  the 
benefit  of  the  work  done  so  silently  and  efifectively  in  the  laboratory  at  Purdue. 
The  bulletins  sent  out  from  time  to  time  convey  useful  knowledge  of  various 
kinds  and  those  who  heed  will  be  able  to  escape  luss,  as  well  as  learn  much 
concerning  plant  life  which  will  be  useful  in  their  business. 


JOHN  F.  BURLEY. 

The  state  of  Ohio  has  sent  many  of  its  best  citizens  to  the  western  coun- 
try who  have  transformed  it  from  a  wilderness  to  a  country  equal  in  every 
way  to  the  great  Buckeye  commonwealth.  Of  this  number  of  worthy  citizens 
who  came  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  the  name  of  John  F.  Burley  should 
be  mentioned.  He  was  born  in  Greenville,  Darke  county,  Ohio,  January  ii, 
1830,  the  son  of  Thornton  H.  and  Mary  A.  Burley,  both  natives  of  Virginia. 
John  F.  Burley  came  to  this  city  in  an  early  day  and  was  successful  in  estab- 
lishing a  good  home  here  and  leaving  a  competency  for  his  family.  His 
death  occurred  May  29,  1859. 

John  F.  Burley  and  ;\Iary  A.  Bookwalter  were  married  December  4, 
1856.  She  was  born  in  Piqua  county,  Ohio,  September  11,  1829,  and  her 
parents  were  from  Pennsylvania.  Her  father's  name  was  Jacob  Bookwalter 
and  her  mother's  maiden  name  was  Juiia  .Vnn  Shuck.  Jacob  Bookwalter 
was  twice  married  and  reared  a  large  family,  consisting  of  fifteen  children. 
There  were  seven  children  by  Mary  A.'s  mother  and  eight  by  her  step-mother. 
fi\-e  girls  and  ten  boys;  three  boys  and  one  girl  are  now  living. 

One  son  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  F.  Burley,  named  Charles  F., 
who  was  born  February  21,  1858.  He  married  Minnie  Brownley,  a  native  of 
Michigan,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  living  children,  one  son  and  two 
daughters.  Charles  F.  Burley  is  a  traveling  salesman  for  Maxwell  &  Com- 
pany, of  Chicago,  and  is  a  very  energetic  and  faithful  business  man.  He  has 
a  good  education  and  has  gained  much  from  the  world  first-handed  which 
renders  his  services  valuable  to  his  employers  who  regard  him  as  one  of  the 
most  capable  salesman.     He  has  a  nice  home  and  a  fine  family. 

Mrs.  Mary  A.  Burley  lives  in  a  very  comfortable  and  attractive  home  at 
No.  212  South  Si.\th  street.  Her  father  was  a  farmer  and  she  was  reared 
in  a  wholesome  home  atmosphere  which  she  has  ever  sought 
to     maintain      about      her      lionie.  She      was      reared      in      the      Meth- 


760  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

odist  Episcopal  faitli.  She  deliglits  to  tell  of  the  early  days  of 
Tippecanoe  count}-,  for  she  was  but  thirteen  years  old  when  she  came  here 
and  she  has  noted  the  wondrous  changes  that  have  taken  place  here  since  then. 
When  lier  parents  came  here  they  settled  four  and  one-half  miles  west  of 
Logansport  in  the  stone-quarry  district.  She  recalls  the  operations  on  the  old 
canal  when  she  says  all  the  music  she  heard  was  the  bugles  and  the  frogs 
during  the  spring  months.  In  that  community  then  could  be  found  all  kinds 
of  wild  fruits  and  plenty  of  game.  j\Irs.  Bnrley  is  a  well  preserved  woman 
for  one  of  her  advanced  years.  She  is  a  good  conversationalist,  having  a  most 
excellent  memory,  recalling  e\ents  of  historic  interest  in  the  long  ago.  She 
has  always  been  a  hard  and  constant  worker  and  is  yet  very  active,  being  alert 
in  body  and  mind,  and  is  a  good  mother  and  neighbur.  She  has  reared  a  son 
of  whom  any  mother  might  be  proud. 


THOMAS  G.  McKEE. 

Prominently  identified  with  the  industrial  and  civic  affairs  of  Tippe- 
canoe county  is  Thomas  G.  ]\lclvee.  who  is  one  of  the  progressi\e  farmers 
of  this  locality,  residing  on  a  beautiful  farmstead  in  Lauramie  township, 
which  he  has  improved  and  on  which  he  makes  a  very  comfortable  living 
by  reason  of  his  close  application  and  good  management :  but  while  he  de- 
votes the  major  part  of  his  time  t>>  his  individual  aftairs  he  was  ne\er  known 
to  neglect  his  duties  to  the  public  at  large.  He  was  born  in  Franklin  county. 
Indiana,  August  24.,  1829,  and  his  long  life  has  been  spent  within  the  borders 
of  the  Hoosier  state,  and  now  in  the  golden  evening  of  his  days  he  finds 
himself  surrounded  by  the  evidences  of  his  former  years  of  actixitv  and  can 
look  back  upon  a  career  of  w  hich  no  one  might  be  ashamed.  He  is  the  son 
of  Eli  C.  and  Xancy  (Griffin)  ]\IcKee,  the  latter  the  daughter  of  Dr.  E. 
Griffin,  a  well-known  pioneer  physician.  Xancy  Griffin  was  born  in  the  state 
of  Kentucky.  \\'hen  Eli  C.  ^IcKee,  a  rugged,  honest  pioneer,  came  to 
Lauramie  township.  Tippecanoe  county.  Indiana,  on  September  20.  18,^3, 
he  found  practically  a  wilderness.  Init,  being  a  hard  worker,  he  soon  had  a 
foothold  here  and  established  a  good  home.  To  y\v.  and  ^Irs.  Eli  C.  Mckee 
eight  children  w-ere  Ijorn.  only  three  of  wlmm  are  now  li\-ing.  namelv : 
Thomas  G.,  of  this  re\iew.  whu  is  now  eighty  years  of  age;  Enes.  who  was 
born  October  t6.  1830:  and  Samuel. 


THOMAS  G.   McKEE 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTVj    IND.  761 

Thomas  (i.  McKee  was  two  years  old  when  liis  parents  brought  him  to 
this  county.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  Lauramie  township,  and  after  reach- 
ing the  proper  age  assisted  with  the  work  on  tlie  farm.  Owing  to  the  fact 
that  it  was  necessary  for  liim  to  help  clear  and  improve  his  father's  place 
and  also  because  of  the  primitive  schools  of  those  early  days,  he  received  only 
a  limited  education,  but  this  has  not  handicapped  him  in  his  business  life,  for 
he  has  succeeded  over  all  obstacles.  ■  He  remained  at  home  'until  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  and.  on  April  i.  1851,  he  was  married  to  Julia  Ann 
Abbott,  and  to  this  union  six  children  were  Isorn.  of  whom,  one  daughter, 
Harriet  A.,  is  the  wife  of  Harvey  Tinsley.  of  Crawfordsville,  Indiana. 
Thomas  C,  the  oldest  son.  was  born  August  12.  i860,  and  died  December 
2,  1899,  and  Marquis  Morton,  the  second  son,  was  born  December  18,  1863, 
and  died  October  28,  1893,  both  being  laid  to  rest  at  Clark's  Hill  cemetery. 
Maud  E.,  born  ^Niav  12.  1867,  died  November  26,  1889.  INIrs.  McKee,  who 
was  Ixirn  June  9,  1829,  died  Alarch  18,  1889. 

]Mr.  McKee  has  devoted  his  life  to  farming,  and  he  now  has  a  cijmfort- 
al)le  home  in  Lauramie  township  where  his  long  life  has  been  spent.  In 
November  of  1886  he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Tippecanoe  county,  and  .so  faith- 
fully did  he  serve  his  fellow  citizens  in  this  capacity  that  they  returned  him  to 
the  same  office  in  1888.  his  official  service  ending  August  25,  1891.  He  has 
always  been  a  Republican  and  has  taken  considerable  interest  in  local  po- 
litical affairs.  It  is  generally  acknowledged  that  he  was  one  of  the  best 
sherififs  Tippecanoe  county  has  ever  had.  .\fter  his  term  of  office  expired 
he  purchased  a  farm,  but  later  sold  it  and  for  many  years  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  stock  shipping,  of  which  he  made  a  great  success.  He  is  now 
practically  retired  from  active  life. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  McKee  is  a  member  of  Miller  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  and  he  has  long  been  a  loyal  worker  in  the  same,  exempli- 
fying in  his  daily  life  the  honest  and  humanitarian  principles  which  this 
noble  order  seeks  to  inculcate. 


WILLIAM  H.   H.  ^lOORE.  M.  D. 

Among  the  young  physicians  of  Lafayette,  who  ha\e  their  careers  before 
them,  none  give  brighter  promise  of  success  than  Doctor  Moore.  He  has  all 
the  prime  qualities  that  usually  secure  results,  as  he  is  abstemious,  industrious, 
attentive   t<>   his   duties  and   possessed   of  the  genial   address    so   essential    in 


762  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

making  friends.  Those  who  know  him  best  express  their  great  confidence  in 
his  future,  declaring  that  he  is  a  natural-born  physician  and  full  of  an  ambi- 
tion that  will  brook  no  failure.  Dr.  Moore  comes  from  a  good  family.  Henry 
H.  Moore,  his  father,  was  well  known  in  this  part  of  Indiana  as  a  merchant 
and  farmer.  His  acquaintance  was  wide  and  the  esteem  for  him  general. 
He  married  Elizabeth  S.  Sleeper,  with  whom  he  lived  happily  until  his  death 
in  1906.  His  widow,  a  highly  esteemed  lady,  quiet  and  motherly  of  disposi- 
tion, is  an  honored  resident  of  West  Lafayette. 

William  H.  H.  Moore,  the  only  child,  was  born  in  Benton  county,  In- 
diana, May  4,  1880,  and  in  youth  was  given  every  advantage  his  parents 
could  afTord.  He  attended  the  schools  of  Otterbein  during  his  minority  and 
entered  Purdue  University  in  1899.  Four  years  of  hard  study  was  put  in 
mastering  the  courses  mapped  out  as  desirable  and  in  the  spring  of  1903  the 
diligent  student  was  rewarded  with  a  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science.  Having 
decided  on  a  professional  career,  the  next  step  was  to  matriculate  at  Rush 
Medical  College  in  Chicago,  where  he  went  through  the  departments  that 
fitted  him  for  graduation  in  1906.  He  obtained  practical  knowledge  to  sup- 
plement his  theoretical  acquirements  by  engaging  as  interne,  or  house  physi- 
cian, at  St.  Ann's  Sanitarium  and  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  in  Chicago.  To 
these  positions  Dr.  Moore  devoted  sixteen  months  and  then  returned  to  Lafay- 
ette to  make  arrangements  for  his  professional  debut.  In  March,  1908,  he 
located  in  the  Columbia  Flats,  opened  a  nent  little  office,  "hung  out  his 
shingle"  and  invited  the  public  to  enter.  There  is  no  doubt  but  what  his 
patients  will  be  plentiful  in  due  time.  Docti  r  Moore  is  a  member  of  the 
Tippecanoe  County,  State  and  American  Medical -Associations  and  also  be- 
longs to  the  Young  ]\Ien's  Christian  Association  and  the  Lincoln  Club.  He  is 
quite  popular  with  his  associates  and  enjoys  the  entree  into  some  of  the  best 
societv  the  citv  afifords. 


FRANKLIN  GEORGE  BAUGHER. 

F.  G.  Baugher  is  remembered  by  the  people  of  Lafayette  as  a  business 
man  of  extraordinary  perseverance  and  integrity,  having  during  a  very  active 
life  accumulated  a  competency  for  his  family  and  then  passed  on  to  that 
"undiscovered  bourne  from  whence  no  traveler  ever  returns,"  but  his  influence 
is  still  felt  by  those  \\  ho  knew  him  best,  for  his  life  was  an  example  worthy  of 
emulation  in  manv  respects.  He  was  a  native  of  one  of  the  Eastern  states, 
and  had  two  lirothers  and   several   sisters.     His   father  came   to   Lafayette, 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  763 

Indiana,  and  died  here.  F.G.Baugher  came  to  this  city  with  his  uncle,William 
Rank,  a  blacksmith,  wlio  taught  the  trade  to  the  subject,  wliich  lie  followed 
for  a  livelihood,  becoming  known  as  one  of  the  most  skillful  workmen  at  die 
forge  in  the  county.     His  death  occurred  December  4,  1880. 

Franklin  G.  Baugher  and  Mary  A.  Ford  were  married  January  21,  1846. 
She  was  born  in  Lebanon  county,  Pennsylvania,  May  10,  1829,  the  daughter 
of  Daniel  and  Catherine  (Koch)  Ford,  both  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  Mr. 
Ford  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  during  his  life  handled  some  large  and 
important  jobs.  He  and  his  wife  came  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  when 
Mary  A.,  their  daughter,  was  nine  years  old,  the  trip  from  the  old  home  in 
the  Keystone  state  being  made  in  wagons  overland.  This  was  in  1838  when 
most  of  this  part  of  the  country  was  yet  covered  with  the  virgin  forests. 
Mr.  Ford  began  business  in  his  new  home  by  opening  a  butcher  shop,  most 
of  his  trading  in  this  line  being  done  in  Cincinnati  where  he  found  a  ready 
market  for  his  products,  the  shipments  being  made  by  canal.  Their  family 
consisted  of  six  children,  four  girls  and  two  boys,  all  of  whom  grew  to  ma- 
turity.   Mary  A.  received  her  education  in  the  old-time  subscription  schools. 

To  Franklin  G.  and  Mary  A.  Baugher  five  children  were  born,  one  girl 
and  four  boys,  three  of.  whom  lived  to  maturity.  Their  names  follow  :  Henry, 
who  is  a  printer  Ijy  trade,  married  Minnie  Barker,  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan, 
but  no  children  have  been  born  to  them;  Frank  G.,  Jr.,  is  married  and  has 
lived  in  the  Reynolds  mansion  in  Lafayette  for  over  twenty  years;  Walter  L. 
married  Jennie  Ward,  of  this  city,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren, an  equal  number  of  boys  and  girls.  Walter  L.  Baugher  died  in  July, 
1903.  He  had  followed  paper  hanging  and  art  decorating  for  a  livelihood, 
and  was  a  very  skilled  workman.  Anna  Yesler,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Baugher,  was 
horn  in  Pennsylvania,  December  2,  1858.  and  she  came  to  the  Baugher  home 
when  four  years  old.  She  takes  a  delight  in  caring  for  ]\Irs.  Bauglier.  Her 
father's  name  was  John  Yesler.  Sarah  E.  Baugher  was  a  sister  of  the  suliject 
of  this  sketch. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baugher  moved  into  the  home  now  occupied  bv  Mrs. 
Baugher  in  1848,  two  years  after  their  marriage,  and  during  this  long  lapse 
she  has  noted  the  development  of  the  locality  from  a  mere  hamlet  to  a  great 
commercial  center.  Her  children  were  all  born  here.  It  is  a  substantial  brick 
house  at  No.  15  South  Sixth  street,  and  the  latch-string  is  alwavs  hanging  on 
the  outside  for  the  many  friends  of  ]\trs.  Baugher.  some  of  them  of  long 
standing,  for  she  has  been  well  kno\\n  here  from  tlie  earlv  davs  to  the  present, 
and  tlie  exemplary  life  she  has  lived  has  made  her  popular  with  her  acquaint- 
ances.    She  is  a  well  preserved  woman,  looking  twenty  years  younger  than 


764  PAST    AXD    PRESENT 

her  age.  She  does  a  great  deal  of  reading  and  sewing  and  other  work.  She 
is  a  faithful  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Her  life  has  been,  in  the 
main,  happy,  although  beset  by  many  trials  incident  to  living  in  a  new  country. 
She  is  kind  to  all,  and  her  motherly  care  and  influence  is  felt  by  everyone 
who  comes  into  her  presence. 


JOSEPH  BEXJA-MIX  BEAUCOXD. 

Fighting  fires  in  cities  has  long  passed  from  the  amateur  stage  to  the 
highest  point  of  discipline  and  scientific  accomplishment.  Onlv  the  best  men 
and  best  machinery  are  fitted  for  the  work,  the  inefficient  being  barred  and 
the  incompetent  told  to  stand  aside.  As  fire  fighting  has  become  more  and 
more  a  science  and  the  management  of  a  department  recjuiring  a  high  order  of 
generalship  combined  with  bravery,  self-control  and- a  coolness  of  temperament 
that  defies  heat,  it  is  considered  a  great  honor  to  hold  the  position  of  chief. 
The  people  respect  him  and  1(  ok  up  to  him  as  a  hero,  he  often  becomes  a 
martyr  to  his  profession,  which  is  extra  hazardous,  and  thus  for  many  reasons 
the  list  that  contains  the  names  of  firemen  is  regarded  as  a  roll  of  honor. 
At  Lafayette,  the  man  who  fills  this  honorable  place  is  Joseph  B.  Beiuc  nd 
and  the  very  fact  that  he  holds  it  is  sufficient  proof  that  he  obtained  it  on 
merit,  by  possessing  those  sturdy  qualities  of  budy  and  mind  tint  enter  intn  the 
making- of  commanders.  The  Beauconds  were  an  nld  family  in  I-"li  yd  county, 
Indiana,  before  the  Civil  w-ar  and  some  of  its  members  figured  honorably  in 
the  development  of  that  section.  Henry  J.  Beaucond,  born  in  1816,  died 
in  1893,  ■^'^'^s  a  farmer  by  regular  vocation,  but  he  did  a  good  deal  of  contract- 
ing as  a  side  line.  He  married  ^lary  Byrnes,  by  whom  he  had  four  sons. 
John  H.,  Joseph  B.,  Francis  J.  and  Peter  ^I. 

Joseph  B.  Beaucond,  the  second  of  these  children,  was  liorn  at  Xew 
Albany,  Indiana,  July  7,  1859,  and  was  reared  in  the  place  of  his  nati\it\-. 
Between  school  terms  he  spent  his  vacations  111  the  farm  helping  his  f-ulier 
with  the  harvest  and  crop  attendance  and  so  cnntinued  until  the  C'jmpletinn 
of  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age.  At  that  time  he  became  an  apprentice  to  learn 
the  trade  of  locomotive  boiler-making  and  spent  several  years  in  mastering 
its  intricacies.  After  fulfilling  all  the  requirements  to  become  a  journeyman 
he  worked  at  his  trade  in  Birmingham,  Alabama,  for  two  years  and,  returning 
to  X^ew  Albany,  w-as  employed  there  for  the  same  length  of  time.  His  next 
engagement     was     with     the     C.      E.     &     I.      Railroad      Cunipany,      after 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  765 

tlie  completion  of  which  he  laid  off  temporarily  from  his  regular 
employment  to  become  a  fireman  at  Xew  Albany.  At  this  juncture  he  dabbled 
in  politics  to  some  extent  on  the  Democratic  side,  but  eventually  resigned 
from  the  fire  department  of  his  own  accord  and  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Monon  Railroad  Company  to  work  at  his  regular  trade.  For  two  years  he 
was  connected  with  the  police  force  at  Xew  Albany  and  this  was  followed  by  a 
re-engagement  with  the  Monon  Raih'oad  Company  to  work  at  his  regular 
trade.  While  thus  employed  he  located  at  Lafayette  in  1894  and  for  the 
next  twelve  years  he  worked  in  the  Monon  shops.  In  1907  he  was  made  chief 
of  the  city  fire  department  and  has  since  discharged  the  duties  of  that  respon- 
sible position.  He  has  a  natural  aptitude  for  this  work  accentuated  by  a 
previous  experience  in  the  same  line  at  New  Albany,  and  he  has  "made  good" 
in  every  way  since  he  took  charge  of  the  position  three  years  ago.  The  evi- 
dence of  this  is  his  high  standing  among  the  fire  chiefs  of  the  state,  the  con- 
fidence manifested  in  him  by  the  fire  insurance  companies  and  the  good  will 
and  respect  that  have  come  to  him  from  all  the  citizens  of  Lafayette. 

Mr.  Beaucond  married  Idda  ^^'ardell,  of  Scottsburg,  Lidiana,  and  they 
have  one  son,  Charles  A.,  who  was  born  January  14,  1895,  and  is  now  one  of 
the  youngest  pupils  in  the  high  school.  Mr.  Beaucond's  only  fraternal  rela- 
tions are  in  connection  with  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  of  which  he  has 
been  a  longtime  member.  His  acquaintance  is  extensive  in  various  parts  of 
the  state,  where  he  has  lived  and  worked,  and  in  all  these  places  he  is  pleas- 
antly rememl:ered  as  an  industriius  mechanic  and  citizen  without  reproach. 


ARETT  C.  ARXETT,  :\L  D. 

Recognized  among  the  leading  physicians  of  Lafavette,  Indiana,  of  the 
younger  generation,  there  is  none  better  known  and  with  a  wider  circle  of 
friends  than  Dr.  A.  C.  Arnett.  He  is  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  born 
August  21,  1882,  and  is  a  son  of  A.  J.  and  Elizabeth  (McBroom)  Arnett. 
The  elder  Arnett  is  a  resident  of  Jackson  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  and 
has  long  been  prominent  in  agricultural  lines  as  well  as  a  political  worker  in 
the  Republican  party.  He  served  as  trustee  of  his  township  and  has  always 
taken  an  active  interest  in  the  campaigning  in  his  county.  Having  practically 
retired  from  farming,  it  is  proljable  that  he  and  his  wife  will  eventually 
become  residents  of  Lafavette.     To  them  were  born  the  following  children : 


766  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Arett  C,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  C.  X.,  now  professor  in  Purdue  Univer- 
sity ;  R.  E.,  a  student  in  the  city  high  school. 

Arett  C.  Arnett  received  his  early  mental  training  in  the  district  school 
of  his  native  home  and  later  graduated  from  the  city  high  school.  He  still 
later  matriculated  in  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  University  at  Valparaiso 
and  completed  the  scientific  course  there.  He  entered  medical  school  in  1903 
and  graduated  in  1907.  He  won  signal  honors  during  his  collegiate  work 
and  was  classed  as  a  close  and  discriminating  student.  He  was  an  undergrad- 
uate interne  at  the  Eleanor  Hospital  for  one  year  and  later  was  in  the  same 
position  with  Bobbs'  Dispensary.  He  is  connected  with  the  hospital  corps  of 
the  Indiana  National  Guard.  In  his  early  practice  he  was  associated  with  Dr. 
George  D.  Kahlo  and  Dr.  A.  C.  Kimberlin  for  two  years.  He  was  also  house 
physician  at  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  for  one  year.  Doctor  Arnett  located  in 
his  present  quarters  in  1908  where  he  has  built  up  an  enviable  practice  and  has 
made  many  friends  by  his  kindly  ministrations.  He  is  a  member  of  several 
medical  societies  and  fraternities,  including  the  Tippecanoe  County  Medical 
Society  and  the  American  Medical  Association.  In  addition  he  is  a  Mason 
and  a  member  of  the  Lincoln  Club,  being  a  strong  Republican. 

Doctor  Arnett  was  married  on  November  11,  1908,  to  Ethel  McKinstray, 
of  Noblesville,  Indiana.  She  is  a  graduate  of  Depauw  University  at  Green- 
castle,  Indiana,  and  a  woman  with  many  excellent  qualities  of  mind.  Doctor 
Arnett  is  a  man  of  many  social  excellencies  and  with  a  bright  outlook  for  his 
future  success. 


ROBERT  HENRY  McGRATH. 

Prominent  among  those  identified  \\ith  the  business  interests  of  the  city 
of  Lafayette  is  Robert  H.  McGrath,  who  succeeded  to  his  father's  interests  in 
the  foundry  and  machine  works,  counted  among  the  city's  chief  assets  from 
an  industrial  standpoint.  He  was  born  in  the  city  where  he  has  always  re- 
sided, on  May  5,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  Robert  M.  and  Catherine  (O'Grady) 
McGrath.  The  father  was  a  native  of  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
mother  a  native  born  of  the  Emerald  Isle.  She  came  to  America  to  join  a 
brother  who  had  emigrated  to  United  States  in  1848.  Robert  M.  McGrath 
was  a  member  of  the  engineering  corps  on  the  survey  of  the  old  Wabash  & 
Erie  canal  and  in  that  way  came  to  Lafayette,  where  he  subsequently  located. 
He  embarked  in  the  foundry  and  machine  business  just  across  the  street  from 
where  the  present  business  of  the  son  is  located.    He  was  in  partnership  with 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY^    IND.  767 

Joseph  Hubler  and  purchased  the  site  where  the  present  foundry  is  situated. 
He  died  in  1889  and  was  active  in  business  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
In  i88g  the  son,  Robert  McGrath,  came  into  possession  of  the  enterprise, 
which  he  has  since  actively  conducted  with  all  success. 

To  the  elder  McGrath  and  wife  were  born  seven  children,  six  of  whom 
are  still  living,  as  follows :  Charles,  deceased ;  Robert  H.  McGrath ;  Catherine, 
who  married  Edward  Miller  and  lives  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  Helen,  widow  of 
Thomas  F.  McMahan,  of  Lafayette;  Frances,  who  married  Edward  F.  Bren- 
nan  and  lives  in  Indianapolis;  George,  of  Los  Angeles,  California. 

Robert  H.  McGrath  was  reared  in  the  city  of  his  nativity  and  obtained 
his  education  in  the  graded  schools,  a  business  course  in  a  commercial  college 
and  later  entered  Notre  Dame  University,  of  the  class  of  1876.  He  was  a 
close  student  and  graduated  with  honors  and  then  returned  to  Lafayette  where 
he  entered  business  for  himself  in  partnership  with  his  father.  With  the 
energy  cliaracteristic  of  the  Irish  race,  the  jNlcGraths  applied  themselves  to 
business  and  were  scon  foremost  among  the  tradesmen  of  their  kind  in 
western  Indiana.  By  hard  work  and  perse\-erance  they  accumulated  a  com- 
petency and  were  honored  by  their  neighbors  and  friends.  Robert  always 
took  much  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  city  and  was  in  politics.  He  was 
elected  as  waterworks  trustee  in  1900  and  served  three  years,  being  re-elected  ■ 
for  a  second  term.  In  1905  he  v.^as  appointed  by  the  mayor  as  president  of 
the  board  of  public  works,  which  position  he  now  holds  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  the  party  that  put  him  there. 

In  1887  he  was  married  to  Mary  Ward,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  and 
to  the  union  four  children  were  born,  as  follows :  Genevieve,  Irma,  Helen 
and  Robert.  The  children  are  either  attending  school  or  graduates  of  some 
institution. 

Robert  McGrath  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church  and  also  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  a  good  citizen, 
progressive  and  honorable,  and  always  willing  to  do  his  duty  as  he  finds  it. 
He  has  a  large  following  of  friends  and  is  revered  as  a  good  citizen  and 
neighbor. 


ADAH  McMAHAN,  M.  D. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  has  been  long  and  favorably  known  in  Lafay- 
ette, and  has  unusual  talent,  which  has  been  improved  by  thorough  education 
and  years  of  experience.  Her  family  is  one  of  the  best,  possessing  historic 
military  records  in  two  wars  and  always  counted  among  the  patriotic  in  times 


768  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

of  national  crisis.  Her  fatlier.  Dr.  William  R.  McAIahan,  was  a  gallant  sol- 
dier of  the  Civil  war.  going  early  and  staying  late,  leaving  no  bad  marks 
against  himself  and  rising  by  merit  to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant  of  his  com- 
pany. On  the  maternal  side.  lJ)r.  Adah  McMahan  is  a  great-granddaughter 
of  Capt.  Jacob  Guiger,  a  veteran  of  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  where  the  Indians 
of  Tecumseh's  tribe  were  so  disastrously  routed  by  the  American  forces  under 
Gen.  W'illiam  Henry  Harrison.  Captain  Guiger  commanded  one  of  the  com- 
panies of  volunteers  who  went  out  under  the  ccmmand  of  Major  Spencer,  of 
the  Kentucky  volunteers.  Captain  Guiger  led  his  troops  gallantly  in  the  charge 
against  the  savages,  was  wounded  in  the  action  and  received  the  thanks  of 
congress  for  his  bravery. 

Dr.  Adah  McAIahan  was  born  at  Huntingburg,  DuBois  county,  Indiana, 
and  received  her  elementary  education  in  the  graded  and  high  school  of  lier 
native  city.  After  reaching  the  proper  age  she  entered  as  a  student  the 
Indiana  State  University,  where  by  diligence  and  hard  study  she  was  honored 
with  the  degrees  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  and  blaster  of  Arts.  She  next  mttricu- 
lated  in  the  Northwestern  University  and  after  a  thorough  course  in  the  med- 
ical department  she  carried  off  the  coveted  degree  of  Doctor  of  Aledicine.  her 
graduation  occurring  with  the  class  of  1897.  Previous  to  going  to  Chicago, 
'however,  Doctor  AIcMahan  had  been  connected  with  the  Girls'  Classical 
School  at  Evansville  and  later  Avas  at  the  head  of  the  Greek  department  of 
the  Duluth  ( ^Minnesota )  high  school.  In  all  of  these  positions  she  proved 
to  be  a  successful  educator,  energetic  in  her  work,  resourceful  in  methods 
and  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  her  duties.  In  the  fall  of  1897,  Doctor  Mc- 
Mahan located  at  Lafayette  where  she  has  since  been  continuously  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  her  profession.  These  twelve  years  have  been  busy  ones  for 
her  and  the  work  she  has  accomplished  is  a  tribute  to  her  push  and  skill. 
Though  she  makes  a  specialty  of  the  diseases  of  women  and  children,  she 
also  enjoys  an  extensive  general  practice.  She  is  a  memlier  of  the  Tippecanoe 
County,  Indiana  State  and  American  Aledical  Associations.  Socially 
.she  is  a  member  of  the  local  chapter  of  the  Daughters  nf  the  American  Revo- 
lution and  her  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  Second  Presbvterian  church. 


FILAXDER  TAYLOR  VESS. 

A  worthy  representative  of  an  old  and  honored  \'irginia  familv.  and 
one  of  the  progressive  agriculturists  of  Tippecanoe  countv  is  Filander  T. 
Vess,  whose  excellent  farm  in   Randolph  township  is  a  model  of  advanced 


^L.-a^i^ 


^I'tf   nyZ 


6e^^ 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  769 

scientific  farming.  His  birth  occurred  in  Rockbridge  county,  \"irginia, 
i\Iay  28.  1855,  and  it  was  tliere  that  he  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools,  passing  through  wliat  would  now  be  known  as  the  eighth  grade. 
He  is  the  son  of  Matthew  and  ]\Iary  (Moore)  \'ess.  both  natives  of  Vir- 
ginia and  representatives  of  as  fine  old  Southern  families  as  could  be  found 
in  the  Old  Dominion.  They  were  reared,  educated  and  married  there,  their 
wedding  occurring  in  1839.  They  managed  very  successfully  a  farm  in 
Rockbridge  county  where,  as  stated,  their  son  Filander  was  born.  The 
mother  passed  to  the  "silent  halls  of  death"  in  ^March.  i860,  at  the  early  age 
of  thirty-two  years,  and  she  lies  buried  near  the  town  of  Lexington,  Vir- 
ginia. Her  husband  survived  her  eleven  years.  They  were  the  parents  of 
seven  children,  all  of  whom  grew  to  maturity,  two  now  being  deceased.  In 
order  of  birth  they  were  as  follows :  John.  ^Nlary.  Jake.  \\'i!liam,  Filander, 
Hulda  and  Sally.  The  deceased  members  are  Mary  and  Jake,  who  are 
buried  at  St.  Paul,  Shelby  county,  Indiana.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife, 
Matthew  Vess,  in  the  year  1861,  married  his  second  wife,  Mary  Ann  Archer, 
a  native  of  Virginia.  They  came  to  Indiana  and  lived  in  Shelby  county  for 
about  a  year  (T868).  then  Matthew  \'ess  returned  to  Virginia  with  his  fam- 
ily, where  he  died  in  December.   1871.  at  the  age  of  fifty-tW(T  years. 

Four  children  were  born  to  Matthew  \'ess  by  his  second  marriage, 
namely:  Oliver  C,  James  R..  Gertie  L.  and  Missouri,  who  died  in  infancy 
while  the  family  lived  in  Shelby  county,  Indiana. 

Filander  T.  \'e5s  remained  with  his  parents  in  A'irginia  until  he  went 
to  \\'est  \'irginia.  where  he  remained  until  his  twenty-first  year,  then  came 
to  Indiana  and  worked  on  a  farm  1iy  the  month  for  two  years,  after  which 
lie  returned  to  \\'est  \"irginia,  in  which  state  he  was  married  on  March  ti, 
1S77,  to  Sarah  Katherine  Carte.  She  was  l3orn  in  Roane  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia. October  6.  1S55.  the  daughter  of  Crawford  and  Margaret  C.  Carte, 
both  natives  of  \\'est  \'irginia,  in  which  state  they  lived  until  the  death  of 
the  father,  which  occurred  shortl}-  after  his  daughter's  marriage  to  the  sub- 
ject. His  widow  survives,  making  her  home  with  her  daughter.  Mrs.  Vess, 
in  Tippecanoe  county.  Indiana.  Slie  enjiys  very  good  health  for  one  who 
has  reached  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Crawford  Carte 
were  the  parents  of  eleven  children.  ^Irs.  \'ess  being  the  second  in  order  of 
birth:  the  other  children  are  Rebecca,  Sarah  C,  John  M..  W.  A.,  :\Iary,  Joe 
C.  and  Cal.  tJie  last  two  deceased,  and  r^Ieady.  who  lives  in  Canada. 

.\fter  the  marriage  of  Filander  T.  A'ess.  he  and  his  wife  returned  to 
Indiana  within  a  few  davs.  landing  in  Lafavette  with  onlv  fiftv  dollars  in 
(49) 


770  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

capital.  They  lx)th  went  to  work  on  a  farm  in  this  county  where  they  lived 
for  a  few  years.  By  hard  work  and  close  economy  they  were  enabled  to 
buy  land  and  stock,  and,  having  prospered  ever  since,  they  now  own  a  fine 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  which  is  among  the  very  best  farm- 
ing land  in  Randolph  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  being  well  stocked  and 
under  high  grade  cultivation  and  well  improved.  They  have  a  fine  home 
and  substantial  outbuildings.  Mr.  Vess  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  Red 
Jersey  hogs  and  Jersey  cows. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vess  five  children  have  been  born,  four  of  whom  grew 
to  maturity,  one  having  died  in  childhood.  In  order  of  birth  they  are  Alto 
Maude,  born  August  21,  1879,  is  the  wife  of  George  K.  Stafford;  they  reside 
in  Lafayette,  Mr.  Stafford  being  postmaster  of  West  Lafayette;  George 
Edgar  was  born  July  25,  1886,  and  died  February  24,  1881  ;  Ora  Florence, 
bom  March  27,  1882,  is  the  wife  of  Charles  Spears,  of  Lafayette;  Charles 
Ernest,  born  April  23,  1884,  has  remained  single;  Harry  Earl,  born  July  22, 
1890,  married  Nora  Conrow,  and  they  reside  in  Romney,  Indiana. 

In  his  fraternal  relations,  Mr.  Vess  is  a  member  of  Randolph  Lodge, 
No.  376,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellow's,  at  Romney.  of  which'  lie  is 
treasurer,  and  he  also  belongs  to  Maracopa  -Tribe,  No.  325,  Improved  Order 
of  Red  Men,  at  Linden,  Indiana.  Mr.  Vess  was  formerly  a  Democrat,  but 
of  recent  years  he  has  supported  the  Republican  ticket,  and  has  taken  quite 
an  active  part  in  political  affairs;  however,  he  has  never  aspired  to  public 
office,  but  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  serve  a  term  of  four  years  as  super- 
visor of  Randolph  township,  which  he  did  very  creditably.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Romney  and  they 
are  very  active  in  church  work,  Mr.  Vess  being  a  member  of  the  stewards 
and  a  trustee  of  this  congregation.  Herman  \^ess.  nephew  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Vess,  who  was  drowned  in  Wea  creek  on  June  29.  1902,  was  a  very  prom- 
ising lad,  his  loss  being  a  severe  blow  to  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Vess,  as  they  were 
rearing  him. 


GEORGE  K.  THROCKMORTON.  M.  D. 

Standing  jM'ominently  among  the  younger  physicians  of  Lafayette,  In- 
diana, is  Dr.  George  K.  Throckmorton,  a  native  born  of  Tippecanoe  C(iunty 
and  well  known  in  medical  circles  of  western  Indiana.  He  was  born  April  i, 
1862,  and  is  a  son  of  Edmond  and  Elizabeth  (  De\'ault.)  Throckmorton.  The 
elder  Throckmorton  came  from  \^irginia  in   1838  and  settled  in  Tippecanoe 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  771 

county  and  lived  there  all  his  life.  He  was  a  farmer  and  by  his  thrift  and  hard 
work  accumulated  considerable  property,  although  when  he  began  life  he  had 
nothing  but  his  courage  and  willing  hands.  At  one  time  he  owned  three 
hundred  acres  of  land  which  he  had  obtained  through  his  own  efforts.  He 
was  known  as  a  God-fearing  man  and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
He  died  in  1903,  his  wife  having  preceded  him  in  1894.  They  were  the 
parents  of  four  children,  three  of  whom  are  living.  Warner  T.  and  Foreman 
W.  are  farmers  of  Tippecanoe  county  and  well-to-do  citizens.  Dr.  George 
Throckmorton,  the  other  son,  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  attended  the  district 
school  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  entered  the  preparatory- 
department  of  Purdue  University  and  in  1883  graduated  from  that  institu- 
tion. He  then  entered  Rush  Medical  College  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  grad- 
uated therefrom  in  1887,  after  which  he  located  in  Lafayette,  Indiana,  and 
has  been  a  resident  of  that  city  since.  He  is  favorably  known  to  his  brethren 
of  the  medical  profession  and  also  has  a  large  and  growing  practice.  His 
ability  as  a  surgeon  is  known  outside  of  his  own  environs.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  staff  of  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital  and  has  been  for  the  last  sixteen  years. 
He  is  also  the  physician  fcr  the  Tippecanoe  Children's  Home  and  at  one 
time  was  elected  coroner  of  the  county  and  was  also  secretary  of  the  county 
board  of  health  for  five  years.  Doctor  Throckmorton  took  a  post-graduate 
course  in  medicine  in  Chicago  and  New  York  and  is  considered  peculiarly 
well  equipped  for  his  life's  profession.  He  has  always  been  identified  with 
the  commercial  interests  of  his  city  and  county  and,  in  addition  to  owning  a 
fine  farm  in  Tippecanoe  county,  he  is  a  stockholder  in  the  American  National 
Bank  and  possesses  an  elegant  home  at  520  North  Seventh  street,  Lafayette. 
At  one  time  he  served  as  president  of  the  State  Medical  Society  and  is  also  a 
member  of  the  county  organization. 

In  1890  Doctor  Throckmorton  was  united  in  marriage  to  Rosalie  Rein- 
hardt.  She  died  in  October,  the  following  year,  leaving  one  daughter,  Georgia 
R..  who  is  now  in  the  Lafayette  high  school.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  has  been  identified  with  its  work.  Doctor  Throckmorton's 
specialty  is  surgery  and  his  fame  in  this  direction  is  not  confined  to  this 
localitv. 


HERMAN  H.  EVANS. 

Born  and  reared  in  the  city  of  Lafayette  and  a  son  of  one  of  its  old-time 
citizens,  Herman  Evans  started  in  life  surrounded  by  home  influences  and 


^J^2  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

with  friends  wlio  had  recognized  the  worth  of  his  father  and  lent  to  the  son 
the  recognition  due  him.  The  young  man  was  born  February  26,  1873,  and 
is  a  son  of  John  and  Helen  (Kessener)  Evans.  The  elder  Evans  was  one  of 
the  first  contractors  of  the  city  of  Lafayette,  and  many  of  the  buildings  now 
standing  in  that  city  are  monuments  of  his  ability.  He  was  of  German 
parentage  and  was  a  success  in  his  life's  work.  He  had  the  reputation  of 
being  a  straight-forward,  honest  man,  and  his  sviccess  was  largely  due  to  the 
honesty  of  his  methods.  He  was  the  father  of  a  large  family  of  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  now  living.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Catholic  church, 
as  was  his  wife,  and  lived  and  died  well  revered  by  his  fellow  citizens.  His 
death  occurred  on  January  30,  1893,  and  his  wife's  the  follow?ing  year. 

Herman  Evans  followed  his  father's  footsteps,  as  a  contractor,  and  also 
added  the  undertaking  business  to  his  line.  He  was  educated  in  the  Catholic 
schools  of  the  city  as  well  as  the  public  schools.  Not  caring  for  a  higher 
learning,  the  young  man  started  to  see  the  world  and  soon  found  himself  in 
the  West.  He  satiated  his  desire  for  the  wanderlust  and  about  the  age  of 
twenty  years  started  into  the  contracting  business.  Later  he  joined  forces 
with  his  brother,  J(jhn  C,  and  they  have  made  a  success  of  the  business  and 
are  among  the  foremost  contractors  of  the  city. 

In  1900  Herman  Evans  entered  the  undertaking  business  under  the  firm 
nnme  of  Evans  &  Scheffee.  Howe\er,  he  gives  this  business  but  little  of  his 
time,  leaving  the  details  to  his  partner. 

Herman  Evans  has  always  taken  mucli  interest  in  the  political  game, 
Ijeing  a  Democrat  by  preferment.  At  one  time  he  was  a  candidate  for  city 
councilman  against  Dr.  John  M.  Smith  and  others.  Although  his  ward  is 
largely  Republican,  he  gave  his  opponents  a  spectacular  race.  Later  he  entered 
the  mayoralty  contest  and  put  up  a  magnificent  fight,  losing  the  xictory  by  a 
heart-breaking  finish  of  two  votes.  .\t  the  time  he  made  the  race  the  city 
was  Republican  by  fi\e  hundred  majorii)-.  He  is  now  serving  as  a  member 
of  the  board  nf  public  health. 

In  1902  Mr.  Evars  was  united  in  marriage  to  Grace  Curtiss.  They 
are  members  of  the  ?t.  Boniface  Catholic  church.  .Aside  from  being  a  shrewd 
business  man.  Herman  Evans  is  a  lover  of  the  great  outdoors  and  spends  as 
much  time  as  lie  can  in  hunting  and  fishing.  He  takes  pride  in  his  ability  as 
a  rifle  shot  and  is  accredited  as  one  of  the  best  marksmen  m 
the  state.  His  life  in  the  npen  has  given  him  a  powerful  physique 
and  be  is  in  the  glow  of  health,  affaljle,  jolly  and  well  liked 
bv  all  who  know  him. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  773 


SYLVESTER  H.   TACKSON. 


S.  H.  Jackson,  a  prominent  business  man  of  Lafayette,  at  the  head  of 
one  of  the  largest  hardware  and  implement  companies  in  the  city,  also  pro- 
prietor of  the  Jackson  livery  barn,  is  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county.  Indiana, 
born  in  Wabash  township  <m  May  ^8,  1859.  His  parents,  Andrew  J.  and 
Mary  (Sparks)  Jackson,  moved  tn  the  county  from  Pennsylvania,  their  native 
state,  about  1850,  and  for  some  years  thereafter  the  father  did  a  thriving 
business  as  a  contractor  and  builder  and  became  one  of  the  enterprising  men 
and  representative  citizens  of  the  township  in  which  he  resided.  The  family 
consisted  of  four  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  living  and  well 
settled  in  life  and  greatly  esteemed  in  their  respective  places  of  abode. 

Sylvester  H.  Jackson  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  Purdue 
University,  and  for  a  period  of  four  years  taught  in  the  schools  of  W'abash 
township,  in  connection  with  which  he  also  farmed  for  se\eral  years,  meet- 
ing with  encouraging  success  as  an  educator  and  a  tiller  of  the  S(_iil.  Later 
he  became  a  resident  oi  Wabash  township,  where  he  served  se\en  years  as 
trustee  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  or  perhaps  a  little  subsequent  to 
that  time,  he  discontinued  agricultural  pursuits  and  accepted  a  position  with 
the  hardware  firm  of  Jamison  Brothers.  Lafayette,  in  whose  employ  he  re- 
mained during  the  ten  years  ensuing.  He  then  engaged  in  the  hardware 
trade  for  himself  and  during  the  past  nine  years  has-  been  the  executive  head 
and  general  manager  of  the  Jackson  Hardware  and  Lnplement  Company,  of 
Lafa\ette,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful  mercantile  companies  of 
northern  Indiana.  The  building  occupied  by  the  corporation  is  thirty  by 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  area,  the  height  five  stories  and  the  floor 
space  amounting  to  twelve  thousand  square  feet.  The  company  handles  all 
kinds  of  hardware,  purchasing  the  same  by  car-load  lots,  farm  implements  of 
every  variety,  besides  twine,  which  is  also  bought  by  the  car-load,  wagons, 
buggies,  harness,  etc. — in  fact  all  articles  and  implements  and  every  kind  of 
machinerj'  for  which  there  is  any  demand  by  the  agriculturist  or  the  general 
trade,  the  rapid  growth  of  the  business  indicating  the  intelligence,  sound 
judgment  and  forethought  exercised  by  the  clear-brained  and  far-seeing  man- 
ager. In  connection  with  this  rapidly  growing  enterprise,  Mr.  Jackson  is 
also  proprietor  of  a  large  livery  barn  at  Xos.  10  and  11  Soutli  Third  street, 
where  he  keeps  about  fifty  fine  roadsters  and  a  full  line  of  buggies,  carriages, 
hacks  and  other  veliicles,  the  establishment  being  complete  in  all  of  its  parts, 
fully  equipped  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  public,  and  the  alreadv  quite  ex- 


774  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

tensive  business  is  steadily  increasing  and  earning  for  the  proprietor  an 
honorable  reputation  as  a  capable,  enterprising  and  popular  man  of  affairs. 
The  livery  barn,  which  is  two  stories  high  and  sixty  by  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  area,  fronts  on  Third  and  South  streets  and  is  equipped  with 
everything  essential  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  business,  the  service 
both  day  and  night  leaving  nothing  to  be  desired  and  every  feature  of  the 
establishment  is  in  first-class  condition,  which  bespeaks  the  interest  and 
care  with  which  it  is  conducted. 

Mr.  Jackson  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
brotherhood,  also  belonging  to  the  order  of  Druids  and  the  Sigma  Chi 
college  fraternity.  He  was  married  in  August,  1880,  to  Miss  Nancy  AI. 
Jamison,  one  of  the  eleven  children  of  John  and  Prudence  (Wright)  Jami- 
son, the  union  being  blessed  with  four  children,  namely:  Frank  B.,  who 
was  born  April  23,  1886,  was  educated  in  the  schools  at  Lafayatte  and  Purdue 
University  and  is  now  associated  with  his  father  in  the  hardware  and  im- 
plement business ;  Mary  M.,  born  August  10,  1883,  received  her  education  in 
the  city  schools  and  is  now  the  wife  of  Bernard  Bogan,  who  is  connected 
with  a  packing  company  in  Lafayette;  Prudence,  whose  birth  occurred  Oc- 
tober I,  i88g,  was  educated  in  the  common  and  high  schools,  graduate  of 
Ama  Morgan  School  of  Dramatic  Art.  Chicago,  and  is  now  a  dramatic 
reader;  Earl,  the  oldest  member  of  the  family,  a  bright  intelligent  lad  and 
a  favorite  with  all  who  knew  him,  died  when  eleven  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Jackson  has  long  taken  an  active  part  in  public  matters,  and  during 
his  four  years  in  the  city  council  did  much  to  promote  the  interests  of  the 
municipality.  While  a  memlier  of  that  body,  he  \\as  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee  and  as  such  rendered  valuable  service  in  maintaining  the  credit  of 
the  city  by  reducing  expenses  to  the  minimum  and  using  his  influence  wher- 
ever possible  to  prevent  injudicious  legislation.  All  worthy  enterprises,  how- 
ever, have  found  in  him  a  willing  patron,  and  he  has  ever  stood  for  those 
measures  having  for  their  object  the  social,  intellectual  and  moral  progress  of 
his  community. 

Mr.  Jackson  possesses  a  forceful  personality  and,  with  strong  common 
sense  and  well  balanced  judgment,  exercises  not  only  an  active,  but  potential 
influence  in  the  commimity,  and  impresses  those  with  whom  he  has  business 
relations  as  a  man  witln  the  well-being  of  his  fellow  citizens  at  heart.  Prac- 
tical ratiier  than  thei  retical.  there  runs  through  his  nature  a  deep  undercur- 
rent of  soliditv  which  makes  his  presence  felt  among  those  with  whom  he 
comes  in  contact  and  the  ease  with  which  he  manages  the  large  establish- 
ment, of  which  he  is  the  head,  demonstrates  his  fitness  to  manage  and  to  carry 
to  successful  conclusion  important  and  far-reaching  enterprises. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  775 


COL.  JOHN  W.  WARNER. 


If  for  no  other  reason,  the  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this  sketch 
deserves  prominent  mention  in  a  history  of  this  nature  because  of  his  services 
in  behalf  of  the  national  Union  during  the  dark  days  of  the  sixties,  for  he 
fearlessly  followed  the  old  flag  on  many  of  the  sanguinary  battlefields  of  the 
South,  and  since  that  period  has  taken  no  small  interest  in  military  and 
public  afifairs. 

Col.  John  \V.  Warner  l^elongs  to  that  class  of  foreign-born  citizens 
who  have  done  so  much  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  New  World,  having  been 
a  native  of  Ireland,  in  which  country  he  first  saw  the  light  of  day  October 
6,  1839,  the  son  of  Robert  S.  and  Jane  (Ross-Wright)  Warner,  his  mother 
having  been  a  widow  when  she  married  Robert  S.  Warner.  This  couple 
came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in  Lafayette,Indiana,  as  early  as  1849,  and 
they  played  no  small  part  in  the  subsequent  development  of  the  place.  They 
later  moved  ten  miles  northwest  of  the  city,  where  Mr.  Warner  devoted  his 
attention  to  the  quiet  pursuits  of  a  husbandman.  He  passed  to  his  rest  in 
1891,  his  good  wife  having  preceded  him  to  the  other  world  twenty  years 
earlier,  in  1871.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living,  in  1909. 

When  John  W.  Warner  was  a  boy  he  assisted  his  father  with  the  work 
on  tlie  farm,  gaining  in  the  winter  time  what  education  he  could  from  the 
primitixe  schools  of  those  early  days,  which  was  necessarily  limited  in  its 
scope.  In  1 86 1  he  married,  and  when  he  heard  the  call  for  troops  from  his 
adopted  country  to  suppress  the  hosts  of  rebellion  he  was  one  of  the  first 
to  heed  the  call,  and  he  left  his  bride  and  the  quiet  environments  of  home 
to  take  up  the  hardships  of  camp  and  field,  enlisting  in  Company  A,  of  the 
famous  Eleventh  Indiana  Volunteer  Cavalry,  which  was  assigned  to  duty 
with  the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  it  did  duty  in  Alabama,  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky.  Mr.  Warner  was  in  the  service  two  years,  perfonning  his  work 
so  faithfully  that  he  was  commissioned  orderly  sergeant.  He  was  in  the 
hospital  a  short  time.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge and,  returning  to  Lafayette,  resumed  farming,  but  in  1870  moved 
into  the  city.  He  served  one  year,  1870-1871,  as  deputy  sherifif,  then  he  went 
on  the  police  force  where  he  remained  for  two  years.  After  engaging  in  other 
things  for  two  years,  he  again  became  a  member  of  the  force  on  which  he  re- 
mained for  a  period  of  seven  years,  giving  excellent  service.  He  served  as 
court  bailiff  for  eight  years,  beginning  in  1882.  He  has  long  been  a  very 
active  worker  in  the  Republican  party  and  by  reason  of  his  services  he  was 


776  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

elected  justice  of  the  peace  in  1894,  having  served  continimusly  ever  since 
in  a  manner  that  has  won  tlie  hearty  approx'al  of  his  constituents.  He  cast 
his  first  vote  for  Abraham  Lincohi  in  i860. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  \\'arner  six  children  were  born,  all  li\ing.  They  are 
Robert  E..  who  is  a  city  mail  carrier:  William  J.,  a  railway  mail  clerk; 
Harry  C.  and  Edward  T.  live  in  Indianapolis  and  are  expert  polishers; 
Robert  E.  also  lives  in  Indianapolis;  Clara,  the  only  daughter,  is  the  wife  of 
a  Mr.  Freshouer. 

In  his  fraternal  relations  the  subject  belongs  to  Lafayette  Lodge,  Xo. 
51.  Knights  of  Pythias:  Lafayette  Lodge,  Xo.  15.  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows;  also  a  member  of  the  Lafayette  Lodge.  Xo.  i.  Uniform  Rank, 
Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  past  commander  of  the  John  A.  Logan  Post, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  he  is  at  this  writing  colonel  of  the  Eighth 
Regiment.  Indiana  X'ational  Guard,  being  regarded  as  a  \ery  able  and 
efficient  commander.  He  is  serving  on  liis  second  term,  having  been  elected 
in  1903.  He  is  xevy  proud  of  his  regiment,  and  well  he  may  be,  for  it  is 
always  in  a  high  state  of  efficiency,  largely  due  to  his  effi:)rts. 

At  the  unveiling  of  the  Tippecanoe  monument.  Colonel  Warner  was 
appointed  marshal.  The  Tenth  L'nited  States  Regiment  of  the  Regular  army 
was  present  and  its  commander,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ciecel,  complimented 
Colonel  Warner  \-ery  highly  on  his  work  that  day.  The  Colonel  is  a  man 
whom  everybody  likes  and  trusts,  and  few  men  in  the  country  are  Ijetter 
known  than  he. 


TOHX  W.  GAY. 


The  mention  of  this  name  carries  the  local  historian  back  to  the  period 
of  struggle,  when  a  mighty  arm}-  of  sturdy  pioneers  were  engaged  in  con- 
quering the  West.  The  search  of  the  genealogical  tree  takes  us  to  England, 
where  w^e  find  John  Gay  migrating  to  the  L'nited  States  prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  establishing  a  home  in  Pennsylvania  and  dying  in  Ohio  at  the 
remarkable  age  of  one  hundred  and  three  years.  His  son  Jacob,  born  in 
AVestmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  followed  the  tide  of  emigration  to  Ohio, 
married  Amy  Herbert,  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  daughter  of  Thomas 
Herbert,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Ohio.  Jacob  Gay  died  in  1848.  at  the 
age  of  fifty-seven  years,  and  his  w-ife  died  in  1867.  Samuel  Gay.  his  only 
son.  was  one  of  five  children,  all  long  since  deceased.  He  was  born  in 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  October  28,  1812.  emigrated  to  Indiana  in  youth 
and  became  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Tippecanoe  county.     He  came  here 


■c^ 


:<:j 


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TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  J-JJ 

with  his  parents  in  1834,  when  his  father  bouglu  three  hundred  acres  of 
partly  impro\-ed  land  in  Wayne  township.  The  old  people  are  buried  in  the 
Sherry  cemetery,  nearby  the  homestead.  Samuel  Gay  grew  up  like  all  other 
pioneer  farm  boys  with  little  time  for  schooling,  but  much  for  hard  work. 
On  October  11.  1837.  he  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  William  and  Xancy 
Reed,  of  Ross  county,  Ohio,  and  Ijy  this  union  there  were  seven  children: 
John  \\'.  and  Emeline,  who  lives  with  him;  Josephine,  wife  of  Alonzo  Bos- 
well,  of  ^^'ayne  township;  Seymour;  James  Madison,  of  Wayne  township; 
Sanford,  of  Oklahoma,  and  Samuel,  also  of  Wayne  township.  The  father 
of  this  family  became  an  extensive  landowner,  as  he  added  to  his  father's 
original  purchase  until  he  had  some  seven  hundred  acres.  He  was  a  very 
liberal  man,  always  read}-  to  contribute  to  public  enterprises  and  Xo  help  his 
fellowman  in  distress.  Thciugh  a  stanch  Whig-  and  Republican,  he  would 
never  accept  office,  his  heart  being  set  on  agricultural  pursuits.  He  be- 
longed to  no  orders  and  showed  little  disposition  to  join  any  organization 
that  required  him  to  be  away  from  heme.  He  died  in  September,  1902,  after 
completing  his  ninetieth  year.  His  wife,  who  has  always  been  a  devout 
Methodist,  survives  him  and  reached  the  end  of  her  eighty-ninth  year  on 
July  I,  1909.  He  is  buried  in  Sherry  cemetery,  which  ct)ntains  the  bones 
of  several  generations  of  the  family. 

John  W.  Gay,  the  eldest  son  of  Samuel,  was  born  in  \\'avne  township, 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  October  14.  1840.  He  went  through  all  the 
rough  experiences  of  a  pioneer  boy  on  an  Indiaiia  farm,  which  consisted  of 
hard  licks  from  morning  until  night,  few  amusements  and  only  such  edu- 
cation as  could  be  picked  up  by  short  winter  attendance  in  the  poor  schools 
of  those  days.  He  grew  up  on  a  farm,  learned  all  about  farming  and  in 
the  end  owned  a  farm  of  his  own,  which  he  managed  with  skill  and  industry. 
He  has  long  been  one  of  the  largest  landowners  of  Wayne  township,  at  one 
time  having  one  thousand  one  hundred  acres,  which,  however,  have  been 
reduced  to  nine  hundred.  He  is  highly  respected,  as,  indeed,  are  his  broth- 
ers and  sisters  and  all  the  connection  of  Gays,  who  stand  for  the  oldest  and 
best  the  county  has  to  show  in  agricultural  developments,  their  lives  being 
the  connecting  link  between  the  pioneer  past  and  the  progressive  present. 


CAPT.  WILLIAM  C.  MITCHELL. 

In  every  community  are  to  be  found  individuals  who  by  reason  of  pro- 
nounced ability  and  forceful  personality  rise  superior  to  the  majoritv  and 
command  the  hoi-nage  of  their  fellows;  -who,  by  revealing  to  the  world  the 


yy^  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

two  resplendent  virtues,  perseverance  in  purpose  and  directing  spirit,  never 
fail  to  attain  positions  of  honor  and  trust  and  become  in  the  full  sense  of 
the  term  leaders  of  men.  Of  this  class  is  the  well-known  gentleman  whose 
name  appears  above,  a  man  who  ranks  among  the  leading  citizens  of  Tippe- 
canoe county  and  who  for  a  number  of  years  has  borne  an  influential  part 
in  shaping  and  directing  the  affairs  of  the  city  in  which  he  resides. 

Capt.  \\'illiam  C.  ^Mitchell,  attorney  at  law  and  president  of  the  Mitchell 
Abstract  Company,  is  one  of  Indiana's  native  sons  and  comes  of  good  old 
Revolutionary  stock,  his  great-grandfather.  Robert  Mitchell,  having  been  a 
hero  of  the  colonial  struggle  for  independence,  serving  in  a  \'irginia  regi- 
ment and  achieving  an  honorable  record  for  duty  bravely  and  faithfully  per- 
formed. He  lived  for  a  number  of  years  to  enjoy  the  liberty  for  which  he 
so  gallantly  fought,  dying  on  the  26th  day  of  July,  1827.  Other  members 
of  the  family  also  served  the  country  in  a  military  capacity,  several  of  the 
name  having  taken  part  in  the  war  of  181 2  and  earned  records  of  which  their 
descendants  feel  deservedly  proud.  Joseph  Mitchell,  the  subject's  father,  was 
born  March  4.  1817.  in  Champaign  county.  Ohio,  came  to  Indiana  in  1832, 
and  after  living  in  Montgomery  county  for  twenty-four  years  moved  to 
Clark's  Hill  in  Tippecanoe  county,  where  he  resided  until  his  removal  to  the 
Tippecanoe  Battle  Ground,  two  years  later.  He  followed  at  different  times 
farming,  merchandising  and  railroad  contracting,  and  was  enterprising  in  all 
of  his  undertakings  and  prosperous.  He  married  Lx>uisa  M.  Kendall,  of 
Champaign  county,  Ohio,  reared  a  family  of  ten  children,  eight  of  whom 
survive,  and  departed  this  life  on  March  8,  1880,  his  wife  dying  in  Feb- 
ruary. 1 891. 

Capt.  William  C.  IMitchell  was  born  July  9.  1854.  in  :Montgomery 
county,  Indiana,  and  when  about  tv>o  years  of  age  was  brought  to  Tippe- 
canoe county,  with  the  interests  of  which  his  subsequent  life  has  been  very 
closely  interwoven.  He  was  greatly  a  debtor  to  the  influences  of  birth  and 
early  training,  and  it  may  be  added  that  he  fully  appreciated  these  and  other 
advantages  which  he  enjoyed  during  his  childhood  and  youth,  and  met  the 
responsibilities  that  fell  to  him  as  he  grew  to  manhood's  estate  in  a  manner 
befitting  one  who  while  still  young  determined  to  rise  above  the  mediocrity 
and  become  of  some  use  in  the  world.  After  acquiring  a  good  education  in 
the  schools  of  Battle  Ground,  he  began  his  independent  career  in'  1874  as 
deputy  county  recorder  and  two  years  later  became  deputy  clerk,  which  posi- 
tion beheld  until  his  election  in  1882  to  the  important  office  of  clerk  of  Tippe- 
canoe county.  Mr.  Mitchell  entered  upon  his  duties  in  the  latter  capacity 
and  discharged  the  same  in  an  eminently  able  and  satisfactory  manner  until 
the  close  of  his  term  in   1886,  when  he  retired  from  the  office  and  the  fol- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  779 

lowing  year,  in  partnership  with  J.  M.  Dresser,  engaged  in  the  real  estate, 
insurance,  loan  and  abstract  business,  which  he  has  since  followed.  His 
partner  dying  in  1894,  Mr.  Mitchell  conducted  the  business  alone  until  1902, 
when  the  Mitchell  Abstract  Company  was  organized  and  incorporated,  since 
which  time  the  enterprise  has  grown  rapidly  in  public  favor,  and  now  does 
a  much  larger  business  in  the  various  lines  represented  than  any  other  man 
or  firm  in  Lafayette  similarly  engaged.  As  president  and  general  manager  of 
the  above  corporation,  Mr.  Mitchell  has  demonstrated  ability  and  acumen  of 
a  high  order  and  his  familiarity  with  the  business  which  he  conducts  makes 
him  an  authority  upon  all  matters  pertaining  thereto.  In  connection  with 
the  large  and  growing  patronage  in  real  estate,  insurance,  abstract  convey- 
ancing and  loans,  he  also  has  a  lucrative  law  practice,  having  fitted  himseli 
for  the  profession  when  a  young  man,  and  since  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
in  1886,  he  has  built  up  an  extensive  legal  business,  devoting  especial  at- 
tention to  laws  relating  to  real  estate  and  probate  matters.  He  has  achieved 
marked  success  both  in  the  enterprise  of  which  he  is  executive  head  and  as  a 
financier.  In  all  public  affairs  affecting  his  city  and  county  he  has  ever  mani- 
fested a  lively  interest,  doing  his  share  towards  progress  and  advancement 
and  making  his  influence  felt  in  bettering  the  social  and  moral  condition  of 
his  fellowmen.  He  gives  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  with  which 
he  has  been  identified  since  becoming  a  voter,  and  it  was  his  activity  and 
popularity  as  a  politician  that  led  to  his  nomination  and  election  to  the  im- 
portant office  of  clerk  of  the  courts  which  he  so  ably  and  worthily  filled. 

Mr.  Mitchell,  on  April  4,  1883,  was  united  in  marriage  with  Amelia 
Schweizer,  of  Lafayette,  the  union  being  blessed  with  one  daughter.  Roe, 
whose  birth  occurred  in  Lafayette  and  who  is  still  with  her  parents.  This 
young  lady  has  been  educated  in  the  Lafayette  high  school  and  in  Dr. 
Gardner's  School,  a  female  seminary  in  New  York  city. 

Captain  Mitchell  is  a  thirty-second-degree  Mason  and  active  in  the  sub- 
ordinate branches  of  the  order,  in  nearly  all  of  which  he  has  been  honored 
from  time  to  time  with  important  official  positions;  he  is  also  prominent  in 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  was  the  first  captain  of  Division  No.  i,  Uniform 
Rank,  in  Lafayette,  in  addition  to  which  societies  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Druids  and  the  Lincoln  Club  and  takes  an  active  part  in  the  deliberations 
of  the  same.  He  has  always  taken  an  active  part  in  military  afifairs,  and 
served  for  several  years  as  captain  of  De  Hart  Light  Infantry.  In  his 
religious  belief  he  holds  to  the  Episcopal  faith,  being  a  vestrvman  of  the 
church  with  which  he  is  identified,  and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  being 
one  of  the  few  members  of  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution  in  the 
city  of  Lafayette. 


/So  PAST    AXD    PRESEN-; 


THOMAS  H.  WHALEX.  M.  D. 

This  popular  physician  of  Lafayette  has  an  interesting  story  to  tell  of 
a  neglected  boyhood,  hardships  of  a  friendless  child,  persistence  against 
great  odds,  and  final  triumph  o\er  all  difficulties.  It  is  a  tale  that  might  be 
told  to  the  credit  (jf  any  man.  and  it  invoh-es  the  exercise  of  the  sterner 
virtues  out  of  which  we  get  t'le  best  of  our  citizenship.  It  is  instrnctix'e 
and  beneficial,  as  it  points  the  wa}-  for  others,  and  shows  that  however  great 
the  discouragements.  howe\"er  biting  the  poverty,  everything  will  cDUie  out 
all  right  if  the  materials  are  there  for  the  making  of  a  real  man.  Thoni:i5 
H.  W'halen  was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  IMay  17,  1863.  under  circumstances 
that  the  old  astrologers  would  have  pronounced  an  "unlucky  star."  His 
parents,  Thomas  and  Delia  (Linket)  W'halen,  were  miserably  poor,  the 
father  being  a  common  railroad  lalx)rer.  who  had  difficulty  in  earning  the 
support  for  his  family.  Even  this  frail  reliance  was  taken  away  from  their 
child  by  the  untimely  death  of  both  father  and  mother,  and  he  found  him- 
self orphaned  at  an  age  so  young  as  to  render  him  an  object  of  charity. 
He  met  what  is  probably  the  worst  fate  that  can  befall  a  child,  that  of  being 
bound  out  to  work  for  strangers.  He  fell  to  the  care  of  one  Thomas  Earl, 
for  whom  he  did  chores  and  light  work  in  summer,  while  attending  school 
desultorily  in  winter.  When  eight  years  old  he  ran  away  and.  boy-like,  he 
had  no  idea  as  to  where  he  was  going.  He  found  refuge  with  another 
farmer  in  the  adjoining  neighborhood,  but.  after  a  brief  residence,  again  took 
leave  and  trusted  his  keeping  for  a  short  time  with  one  Benjamin  Bowers, 
At  length  he  reached  more  solid  ground,  when  he  obtained  employment 
with  William  Cullim,  a  well-to-do  farmer  of  Sheffield  township,  Tippecanoe 
county.  He  remained  here  until  he  reached  his  majority  and  meantime  had 
saved  some  money,  as  well  as  acquiring  sufficient  education  to  qualify  him 
to  teach.  Securing  charge  of  a  country  school,  he  followed  the  occupation 
of  a  pedagogue  for  fourteen  years,  taking  advantage  of  the  interludes  to  ground 
himself  in  the  elements  of  medicine.  After  a  course  of  reading,  which  gave 
him  the  necessary  qualifications,  he  became  a  student  in  the  Illinois  INIedical 
College  and  obtained  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  that  institution 
in  the  class  of  1898.  In  November  of  that  year  he  located  at  Lafayette  and 
has  ever  since  been  one  of  the  fixtures  of  the  city,  gaining  friends  as  well 
as  clients  in  numbers  sufficient  to  make  him  prosperous.  Being  energetic, 
well  qualified  for  his  profession  and  a  natural  maker  of  friends,  his  ten 
years'  residence    in    Lafayette   has   yielded   results   that   should   gratify   any 


TIPPEC-\NOE    COUNTY,    IND.  jSl 

ordinary  ambition.  He  is  a  member  of  tbe  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana  State 
and  American  Medical  Associations  and  has  been  especially  honored  by  ap- 
pointment as  a  member  of  the  city  board  of  health.  Doctor  Whalen  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  being  past 
chancellor  of  the  latter  lodge.  Politically  the  Doctor  affiliates  with  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  his  religious  views  find  expression  as  a  member  of  St. 
Mary's  Catholic  church. 

In  1891  Doctor  Whalen  married  Helen  Clark,  a  niece  of  William 
Cullim,  who  died  in  1893  without  issue.  In  1902  he  married  Barbara  Kienby, 
a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county,  bom  November  12,  1880.  By  this  union 
there  has  been  one  child,  Bertha  Rose,  born  November  g,  1906.  Mrs. 
Whalen's  ancestors,  originally  from  Germany,  were  early  settlers  of  Tippe- 
canoe countv,  and  her  father  is  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war. 


CHARLES  BERGOUIST. 

Charles  Bergquist  belongs  to  that  class  of  men  whii  win  in  life's  battles 
by  sheer  force  of  personality  and  determination,  rather  than  by  the  influence 
of  friends  or  caprice  of  fortune,  and  in  whatever  he  has  undertaken  he  has 
shown  himself  to  be  a  man  of  ability  and  honor,  faithful  to  whatever  trust 
that  lias  been  reposed  in  him,  and  as  the  postmaster  and  merchant  at  South 
Raub.  Randolph  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  he  plays  an  important  role  in 
that  community.  His  l)irth  occurred  on  June  5,  i860,  in  Kalmar  Lane. 
Sweden,  a  ciumtry  that  has  sent  so  many  valuable  citizens  to  America.  He  is 
the  son  of  Jonas  Frederick  antl  Emma  Louisa  (  Xelson)  Bergquist,  both 
nati\"es  of  Sweden,  in  which  ctumiry  they  lived  and  died.  Jonas  Bergquist 
was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  a  '>ery  skilled  workman.  They  were  people 
of  industry  and  integrity,  and  to  them  three  children  were  born,  of  whom 
Charles  is  the  only  nne  now  living.  He  received  a  good  education  in  the 
schools  of  his  nati\e  country.  His  father  having  died  in  1865  and  his  mother 
in  1870.  Charles  went  to  live  \\ith  an  uncle.  Alexander  Nelson,  with  whom 
he  remained  for  a  period  of  nine  years.  He  also  lived  with  another  man 
for  one  year.  Ha\-ing  heard  of  the  wonderful  republic  across  the  sea, 
Charles  determined  to  try  his  fortunes  in  .\merica.  to  which  countrv  he  came 
in  1880.  He  had  an  uncle  in  Lafayette  and  one  in  Tipton  countv.  Indiana. 
He  came  to  the  former  place,  and  first  worked  for  a  farmer  in  Randnlph 
township,  later  worked   for  Robert  Sample,  of  Lafayette,   in  the  car  works 


782 


PAST    AND    PRESENT 


for  several  years,  also  worked  in  the  Pullman  car  shops  one  year.  Then 
he  went  to  Henry  county,  Illinois,  and  worked  on  a  railroad  during  the 
summer,  then  worked  on  a  farm  for  two  years,  after  which  he  returned  to 
the  car  shops  in  Lafayette.  Being-  faithful  to  his  duties  and  economical,  he 
was  enabled  during  those  years  to  lay  by  enough  money  to  begin  life  for 
himself. 

]\Ir.  Bergquist  was  married  in  1878  to  Amanda  Gustafson,  a  native  of 
Sweden  and  a  woman  in  every  way  worthy  to  be  the  helpmeet  of  an  enter- 
prising man  like  Mr.  Bergquist.  They  have  become  the  parents  of  six  chil- 
dren, namely :     Florence,  Roy,  deceased ;  Ruth,  Alice,  Frank  and  Harold. 

In  October,  1899,  Mr.  Bergquist  located  at  South  Raub,  where  he  has 
since  resided.  He  purchased  the  store  owned  by  William  A.  Ward,  and  he 
has  managed  the  same  successfully,  building  up  an  extensive  trade  with  the 
surrounding  community.  He  was  appointed  postmaster,  and  the  two  em- 
ployments keep  him  busy.  He  handles  large  quantities  of  eggs  and  butter  and 
carries  a  well-selected  stock  of  goods.  He  is  truly  a  self-made  man,  and 
the  success  that  has  attended  his  efforts  shows  him  to  be  a  good  manager. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  belongs  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
His  reputation  is  that  of  an  honest  man  who  attends  carefully  to  his  own 
business  afifairs. 


JOHN  WILLIA^I  CANN. 

No  man  who  has  lived  near  Stockwell,  Tippecanoe  county,  in  recent 
years  stamped  his  personality  upon  the  community  in  a  more  indelible  m in- 
ner than  did  John  William  Cann.  who.  after  a  long  life  of  unusual  industry 
and  honor,  passed  into  the  silent  land  amid  the  sorrowing  multitude  that 
had  long  known  and  loved  him,  for  they  realized  thit  his  place  cc.uld  never  be 
filled.  He  was  born  October  4,  1834.  near  Wheeling.  West  Virginia,  the 
son  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  (Hass)  Cann,  natives  of  West  Virginia  who 
came  early  to  Concord,  Indiana,  where  they  labored  to  establish  a  home  in 
the  undeveloped  region  and  where  the  father  died;  after  this  event  Mrs. 
Cann  went  to  Illinois,  later  to  Kansas,  in  which  state  she  died  in  1897.  Thev 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  named  in  order  of  birth  as  follows : 
Margaret.  Mary,  John  William,  Peter,  Robert,  Christopher  and  Thomas. 
The  Hass  family  originated  in  Virginia,  in  w  hich  state  the-\'  were  preeminent 
in  the  early  days,  having  owned  large  plantations  and  manv  sla\-es,  and. 
like  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Old  Dominion  state  in  ante-bellum  dav^. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  783 

were  noted  for  their  unstinted  hospitality.  Finally  members  of  this  family 
came  to  Indiana  where  they  soon  became  identified  with  the  new  conditions 
here  and  became  well-to-do. 

The  early  education  of  John  W.  Cann  was  obtained  in  the  common 
schools.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  look  after  the  wants  of  his  mother 
and  other  members  of  the  family,  which  he  did  like  a  dutiful  son  until  his 
marriage,  on  October  3,  1864,  to  Rachael  Mildred  DeHart.  She  was  born 
in  Wea  township  on  the  old  Allen  DeHart  farm,  January  21,  1847,  the 
daughter  of  Allen  and  Maria  (Holliday)  DeHart,  the  former  a  native  of 
Ohio  and  the  latter  of  Indiana.  Allen  DeHart  came  with  his  parents,  Adam 
and  Mary  (Howard)  DeHart,  to  Wea  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  in 
1825,  when  this  section  was  wild  and  mostly  uncultivated.  Allen  DeHart 
was  born  February  25,  1825.  In  that  year  his  parents,  who  were  Virginians, 
left  that  state  for  Ohio,  where  they  remained  for  a  short  time  before  coming 
on  to  Indiana.  They  reared  a  family  and  spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives 
in  Tippecanoe  county,  having  been  pioneers  in  the  section  where  they  settled, 
and  they  had  for  neighbors  the  Indians,  who  were  then  peaceable.  Allen 
DeHart  was  twice  married,  first  to  Maria  Holliday,  which  union  resulted 
in  the  birth  of  only  one  child,  Rachel  Mildred,  who  became  the  wife  of  the 
gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  review.  Mr.  DeHart's  second  marriage 
was  with  Emeline  Williams,  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  one  child  was  born  to  this 
union,  Lewis  Milton  DeHart,  now  a  retired  farmer  living  in  Lafayette,  In- 
diana. He  first  married  Zua  Alima  Hall,  a  native  of  Tippecanoe  county, 
by  whom  he  had  one  child.  Myrtle  Olive;  his  second  marriage  was  with 
Mary  Edwards,  no  children  having  been  bcrn  to  the  latter  union. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  W.  Cann  were  the  parents  of  three  children,  namely: 
Edward  Curtis,  who  farms  on  the  old  home  place  in  Wea  township ;  he 
married  Zelma  Williams.  Mary  Ellen  married  James  C.  Davis,  of  near 
Thorntown,  Indiana,  and  became  the  mother  of  one  child,  Edna  Ethel,  who 
married  Carl  Hedges,  of  Hendricks  county,  Indiana.  Morton  Colfax  Cann 
is  a  traveling  salesman  for  the  Smith  Manufacturing  Company  of  Chicago, 
and  lives  in  Lafayette,  Indiana;  he  married  Grace  L.  Shoemaker. 

After  their  marriage,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  W.  Cann  settled  in  section  36. 
Wea  township,  Tippecanoe  county,  where  Mrs.  Cann  now  lives  on  ninety- 
eight  acres.  When  they  settled  this  place  it  was  all  wild  and  covered  with 
timber,  but  Mr.  Cann  was  a  hard  worker  and  set  about  clearing  the  same, 
finally  developing  an  excellent  farm  and  establishing  a  good  home  in  which  he 
took  a  great  delight  and  where  he  spent  the  major  part  of  his  time,  having 
been  a  good  hu.sband  and  a  kind   father.     Although  he  was  verv  active  in 


784  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

local  political  aitairs,  being  a  stanch  I\e])uljlican.  lie  never  soughl  public 
office.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Christian  church,  with  which  Mrs.  Cann  is 
also  identified.  He  took  much  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  local  congregation 
with  which  he  affiliated.  This  good  man  was  called  to  his  rest  April  5, 
ic;o3.  leaving  behind  him  a  comf(irtable  home  and  competence  for  his  family, 
every  member  of  which  is  well  and  favorably  known  in  this  locality,  main- 
taining the  high  standard  of  character  and  citizenship  which  he  exemplified. 


JOHX  STEVEXS  BUSH. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  is  now  living  in  retirement  at  his  com- 
fortable home  in  Dayton,  has  had  a  long  and  honorable  career  and  is  now 
enjoying  the  closing  years  of  his  life  in  pleasant  retrospection  of  the  years 
which  have  held  for  him  so  many  varied  elements  of  life.  Mr.  Bush  comes 
of  honorable  ancestry  and  this  sketch  would  be  incomplete  if  menti(in  were 
not  made  of  those  from  whom  he  has  inherited  those  sterling  qualities  of 
character  which  have  characterized  him. 

The  subject's  paternal  grandparents  were  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Stevens)  Bush.  The  latter's  mother  was  Abigail  Stevens,  who  died  De- 
cember 2^.  1839,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years  and  eight  days,  and  her 
bod}'  lies  in  the  old  Bush  cemetery  at  Dayton.  The  Bush  family  is  of  English 
descent,  ^^'illiam  Bush  was  b<^rn  and  reared  in  southern  Xew  York,  but  in 
the  early  twenties  he  came  to  Indiana  by  the  water  route,  going  down  the 
Allegheny  river  to  the  Ohio,  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Whitewater  and 
up  to  Connersville.  Here  they  remained  a  year,  during  which  period  he 
erected  a  mill.  In  the  fall  of  1824  they  again  started  westward  and  located 
at  what  is  now  Dayton,  Tippecanoe  county.  Here  William  Bush  entered 
and  later  lx)ught  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  land.  In  1827  he  divided  a  por- 
tion of  this  land  into  town  lots,  to  which  be  ga\e  the  name  of  Fairfield. 
However,  there  being  another  town  of  tlie  same  name  in  Indiana,  he  found 
it  impossible  to  secure  a  postoffice  here  under  that  name  and  in  1830  it  was 
changed  to  Marquis,  and  suljsequently  to  that  of  Dayton,  under  which  name 
it  has  since  been  known. 

At  the  first  election,  held  probably  in  the  spring  of  1825,  William  Bush 
was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  in  which  ofifice  he  served  a  number  of  years. 
After  deciding  on  his  new  location,  ]Mr.  Bush  at  once  entered  on  the  task  of 
clearing  the  land'  f >  r  cultivation,  and  he  built  a  cijmfortable  log  cabin  on  the 


JOHN  S.  BUSH 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  785 

brow  of  the  hill  overlooking  Wild  Cat  valley.  This  was  the  family  home 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  on  this  site  is  now  located  the  Bush  family 
cemetery  where  lie  his  remains,  together  with  those  of  his  wife  and  mother- 
in-law,  Abigail  Stevens.  William  Bush  later  built  a  frame  house,  the  one 
now  occupied  as  a  residence  by  Mr.  Newhard.  This  homle  became  the  stoi>- 
ping  place  for  the  circuit-riding  preachers  of  that  day,  who  there  found  a 
hospitfable  welcome.  It  is  related  of  William  Bush  that,  while  he  gave  the 
preachers  a  hearty  welcome  and  furnished  them  horse  feed,  he  always  in- 
sisted that  they  should  groom  and  feed  their  own  steeds.  His  wife  was  a 
faithful  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  he  was  a  liberal 
supixjrter  of  the  same.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  lodge  at  La- 
fayette, and  in  politics  was  a  stanch  Whig.  His  death  occurred  June  i,  1854, 
and  his  wife  died  February  11,  1846,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  This 
honored  couple  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children :  John,  Eliza 
(who  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  J.  Toole),  Ezra  (father  of  the  immediate 
subject  of  this  sketch),   William,  Jared,  David,   Luther  and  Orlando. 

Ezra  Bush  was  born  in  New  York  state  and  came  to  Indiana  with  his 
parents.  He  remained  under  the  parental  roof  until  his  marriage,  after 
which  he  ran  the  old  tavern  until  the  death  of  his  wife.  They  had  become 
the  parents  of  one  son,  who  was  named  Hickory  in  honor  of  the  fact  that  he 
was  born  on  the  day  that  Andrew  Jackson  defeated  the  British  at  New 
Orleans.  Hickory  is  now  deceased.  For  a  time  after  the  death  of  his  wife, 
Mr.  Bush  traveled  extensively,  and  then  he  settled  on  a  farm  south  of  Day- 
ton, where  he  remained  for  a  number  of  years.  He  then  went  to  Lafay- 
ette where  he  engaged  in  the  monument  business  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  October,  1870.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order 
and  retained  a  faithful  connection  with  the  Presbyterian  church  in  his  later 
life.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican.  Mr.  Bush  first  married  Sairah  A. 
Bayless,  a  native  of  Hamilton,  Ohio,  of  which  unicn  John  S.  Bush  is  the  only 
living  child.  In  1847  Mr.  Bush  married  Martha  McGeorge,  and  to  them 
were  born  two  children,  namely:  Mary,  the  wife  of  Robert  John,  now 
deceased,  and  she  now  resides  at  Houston,  Texas;  and  Martha  M.,  deceased. 

John  Stevens  Bush  was  born  at  Dayton  on  the  13th  of  September,  1839, 
and  was  here  reared  and  educated.  He  remained  with  his  parents  until  the 
outbreak  of  hostilities  between  the  North  and  the  South,  when,  in  August, 
1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Seventy-second  Regiment  Indiana  Vol- 
unteer Infantry.  His  command  was  assigned  to  the  famous  Wilder  Brigade, 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  with  that  command  the  subject  saw  some 
arduous  service.  Much  of  the  time  he  was  emplnyed  in  chasing  Morp-an's 
(.SO) 


736  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

guerrilla  command,  and  in  this  service  he  contracted  ill  health,  which  finally 
put  him  on  the  inactive  list  and  he  was  subsequently  honorably  discharged  at 
Bowling  Green,  Kentucky.  He  at  once  returned  to  his  home  at  Dayton  and 
subsequently  entirely  regained  his  health.  Going  to  Iroquois  county,  Illinois, 
he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock  raising  with  fair  success  until  1892,  when 
he  went  into  the  drug  business  at  Sheldon,  Illinois,  in  which  he  was  engaged 
until  1900.  In  that  year  he  removed  to  Culver,  Indiana,  and  engaged  in 
the  hotel  business  until  1908.  Having  accumulated  a  fair  amount  of  means 
and  feeling  the  weight  of  years,  he  decided  to  retire  from  active  business  life 
and  return  to  his  old  home  in  Dayton,  where  he  is  now  living. 

While  living  in  Illinois,  Mr.  Bush  married  Sarah  B.  Speck,  whose  death 
occurred  in  1902,  and  subsequently  he  wedded  Mrs.  Lydia  Wilson,  nee 
Burkhalter.  By  her  former  marriage,  Mrs.  Bush  had  a  daughter  Mabel,  who 
becnmie  the  wife  of  William  Ruger.  They  live  in  Dayton  and  are  the  par- 
ents of  a  daughter,  Florence  Louise. 

In  matters  political  Mr.  Bush  is  loyal  to  the  Republican  party  and  he 
takes  a  keen  interest  in  the  trend  of  public  events.  In  1885  Mr.  Bush  was 
made  a  Mason  in  Sheldon  Lodge,  No.  609,  at  Sheldon,  Illinois,  but  subse- 
quently dimitted  to  the  lodge  at  Culver,  Indiana,  where  he  now  holds  mem- 
bership. He  is  ialso  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  having 
his  name  on  the  roster  of  the  post  at  Culver.  Though  now  practically  re- 
tired from  life's  active  duties,  Mr.  Bush  takes  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  goes 
on  about  him  and  renders  a  hearty  support  to  those  ^things  which  are  for  the 
highest  interests  of  the  community.  He  possesses  a  genial  personality  and 
has  a  large  circle  of  friends. 


JOSEPHINE  M.  MITCHELL.  M.  D. 

The  woman  in  medicine,  once  such  a  novelty  as  to  excite  wondering,  has 
long  since  ceased  to  challenge  extraordinary  attention.  It  was  found  that 
she  was  especially  adapted  to  the  healing  art,  being  a  nurse  by  nature  and 
full  of  sympathy  so  essential  to  success  in  the  sick  room.  While  fully  equial 
to  the  requirements  of  every  department,  there  were  certain  branches  of 
medicine  where  a  special  call  seemed  to  be  made  for  female  super\'ision.  In 
diseases  of  women  and  children,  in  all  hospitals  devoted  to  these  specialties, 
the  woman  physician  was  peculiarly  at  home.  Thus  it  has  come  to  pass  that 
women  physicians  are  now  to  be  found  everywhere  in  Europe  and  the 
United  States,  and  also  among  the  heathen  as  medical  missionaries     Some  of 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  787 

them  have  risen  to  great  eminence,  both  as  speciahsts  and  general  prac- 
titioners. They  are  received  on  equal  footing  with  men  in  the  great  univer- 
sities, are  welcomed  in  the  most  refined  homes  and  often  include  in  their 
clientele  the  brightest  and  best  men  and  women  of  our  progressive  com- 
munities. 

In  Dr.  Josephine  M.  Mitchell  Lafayette  possesses  a  fine  sample  of 
the  highly  educated  and  fully  equipped  woman  physician,  equal  to  every 
emergency  and  prepared  by  study  and  practice  to  treat  the  most  difficult 
cases.  She  is  a  native  of  New  York  and  daughter  of  William  H.  Miner,  for 
many  years  a  merchant  in  that  state.  He  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  later  to 
Ohio,  where  Doctor  Mitchell  was  married  to  John  B.  Mitchell,  for  many 
years  superintendent  of  bridges  and'  buildings  of  the  Wabash  railroad  and 
later  in  the  same  capacity  on  the  Big  Four.  After  his  death,  in  1894,  she 
took  up  the  study  of  medicine.  A  preparatory  course  in  science  at  Purdue 
University  was  followed  by  the  regular  medical  course  in  the  University  of 
Michigan,  from  which  she  was  graduated  in  1901.  During  her  senior  year 
in  this  university  she  was  on  the  staff  of  the  professor  of  gynecology  and 
obstetrics.  After  graduation  she  took  the  state  examination  of  Indiana  and 
Illinois,  after  which  she  spent  a  year  as  house  physician  in  the  Hospital  for 
Women  and  Children  at  Detroit.  She  then  went  abroad  for  a  year,  doing 
post-graduate  work  in  London  and  Vienna,  returning  to  Lafayette  in  1903 
to  take  up  the  practice  of  medicine. 

Doctor  Mitchell  stands  well  in  her  profession  and  is  an  honored  mem- 
ber of  the  various  societies  devoted  to  physicians  and  their  work.  Included 
in  these  are  the  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana  State  and  American  Medical 
Associations,  besides  such  social  and  fraternity  organizations  as  the  Alpha 
Epsilon  Iota  sorority  and  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  is  connected  with  some  of  the 
charity  institutions,  also  a  member  of  the  executive  lx)ard  of  the  Society  for 
the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis. 


DANIEL  B.  FRETZ. 

The  Lafayette  family  of  this  name  is  of  Gemian  origin.  Daniel  Fretz, 
who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  had  a  son  named  Enos,  who  was  born  at 
the  parental  home  in  Lehigh  county  and  married  Sophia  Brunner,  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine.  Both  father  and  son  came  to  Tippecanoe  county  in  1853  and  lo- 
cated in   Perry  township,    where   they   spent   the   remainder   of   their   da^-s. 


788  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Enos  Fretz,  who  was  an  only  chiUl,  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  and  fol- 
lowed it  as  an  occupation  for  twenty-seven  years,  during  which  time  he  gave 
instructions  to  nine  apprentices  for  terms  of  two  years  each.  \Yhen  he  came 
here  alone  in  1852  to  look  up  a  location,  he  bought  eighty  acres  of  timber. 
a  half-mile  south  of  Pettit,  and  next  year  his  parents  joined  him.  He  pur- 
chased the  Bains  saw  and  grist  mills,  which  he  ran  for  over  thirty  years, 
while  farming  at  the  same  time.  He  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Cerman 
Reformed  church  and  became  quite  prominent  as  a  citizen  and  business  man  . 
in  his  community.  He  died  in  1889.  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years,  and 
his  wife  passed  away  in  1886,  aged  sixty-eight.  When  they  came  to  Tippe- 
canoe countv  there  were  eight  children  in  the  family.  Elizabeth,  the  eldest, 
married  T.  F.  Reis,  of  Mulberry,  Indiana ;  Encs,  the  third  child,  died  in  No- 
vember, 1908,  at  Mulberry,  while  in  the  marble  and  monument  business; 
he  married  Sallie  ^loyer;  William,  the  fourth  child,  married  Pauline  Roth 
and  is  a  farmer  one-half  mile  east  of  >Ionitor,  Indiana ;  Sophia  is  the  widow 
of  Presley  Baker,  of  Perry  township:  Henry,  who  married  Lulu  Frey.  is  a 
sawmill  owner  in  Mellott.  Fountain  county,  Indiana;  Charles,  who  married 
Kittie  Karn.  is  a  wealthy  and  up-to-date  farmer  and  stock  dealer,  owning 
three  large  farms;  ^larv  is  the  wife  of  James  Rothenberger,  of  jMulberry; 
Philip,  the  youngest  child,  and  the  only  one  born  in  Tippecanoe  county,  mar- 
ried Retta  Harlen,  and  runs  a  sawmill  and  lives  in  \'irginia. 

Daniel  B.  Fretz.  second  in  age  of  his  father's  nine  children,  was  born 
in  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  20.  1839,  and  was  about  fourteen 
vears  old  when  his  parents  settled  in  this  section.  He  remained  at  home 
until  twenty-two  years  old,  spent  three  years  in  Indianapolis,  working  two 
vears  in  the  Etna  mill  and  one  year  in  the  Capital  flour  mill.  Immediately 
after  coming  to  Tippecanoe  county  he  liegan  working  with  his  father  in 
the  mill,  and  was  consequently  well  up  in  the  business  by  the  time  he  reached 
his  majority.  In  1864  he  was  married  at  Indianapolis  to  .\manda  Brown, 
of  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania,  who  died  in  1866,  leaving  one  child  named 
Sarah,  now  the  wife  of  John  Myer,  of  West  Lafayette,  with  two  children. 
Carlton  and  Aldine.  In  1867  Mr.  Fretz  married  Almina  Roth,  of  Clinton 
county,  Indiana,  who  died  August  12,  1895.  without  issue.  Januan,-  28. 
1896.  Mr.  Fretz  married  Mary  E.  Etter,  of  Perry  township,  a  daughter  of 
John  H.  and  Susan  fLeinger)  Etter,  of  Franklin  county.  Pennsylvania, 
who  came  to  Tippecanoe  county  in  1865.  By  his  last  marriage,  INIr,  Fretz 
has  three  children,  Solomon,  Maude  and  Theodore.  After  his  first  marriage 
he  ran  the  Pvrmont  mill  for  two  years  and  also  managed  his  father's  mill 
for  the  same  length  of  time.     February  22,  1870,  he  located  at  Monitor,  in 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  789 

Perry  township,  and  bought  the  mihs  owned  by  Daggert,  Potter  &  Martin. 
In  1 87 1  he  fitted  up  one  of  these  as  a  gristmiU  and  converted  the  others  into 
a  sawmill  in  1885.  Mr.  Fretz  has  always  done  some  farming  en  the  side 
and  now  owns  a  place  of  fifty-nine  acres,  which  he  cuhivates.  He  belongs 
to  the  English  Lutheran  church  and  helped  build  the  one  at  Pettit.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  at  ^Monitor.  [Mrs.  Fretz 
is  a  breeder  of  White  Leghorns  and  Light  Brahma  chickens  and  has  a 
fine  lot  of  this  class  of  high-grade  poultry.  In  1892  Mr.  Fretz  b^uilt  a  fine 
home,  which  has  gas  and  all  the  modern  improvements. 


WILLIA^I  WERDEX  SMITH. 

Autobiography. 
^^'illiam  Werden  Smith,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  seven  miles 
west  of  Springfield,  Clark  county,  Ohio,  on  July  7,  1835.  His  great-grand- 
father. Hezekiah  Smith,  was  born  in  Wales:  came  to  America  and  settled  in 
New  Jersey  in  the  year  1740.  His  grandfather,  Peter  Smith,  was  born  in 
New  Jersey,  February  6,  1753,  was  educated  at  Princeton  and  was  married 
to  Catherine  Stout  December  23,  1776,  and  resided  in  Philadelphia  several 
years.  He  wrote  that  in  the  winter  1777  he  inoculated  one  hundred  and 
thirty  persons  for  smallpox.  This  was  before  vaccination  was  practiced.  In 
the  ye^r  1790  he  moved  to  Georgia.  Believing'  slavery  to  be  wrong,  he  always 
advocated  the  freedom  of  the  slave  and  the  education  of  the  colored  race.  In 
1787  congress  passed  an  ordinance  organizing  the  Northwest  territory,  lying 
north  of  the  Ohio  river  and  including  what  is  now  the  states  of  Ohio.  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan  and  W'isconsin.  In  this  ordinance  slavery  or  involuntary 
servitude  was  forever  prohibited  from  any  part  of  this  territory.  Grandfather 
decided  to  move  his  family  to  free  territory  and  in  the  year  1794  he,  with 
five  or  six  other  families,  arranged  to  move  to  the  Northwest  territory,  the 
country  through  which  they  passed  being  a  wilderness.  The  only  roads  they 
had  to  guide  them  were  the  Indian  trails  blazed  through  the  wilderness.  Be- 
fore starting  they  organized  bv  electing  Grandfather  captain.  They  used 
pack  horses,  on  which  everything  they  had  was  carried.  Grandfather's  fam- 
ily consisted  of  nine  children,  two  of  these,  the  youngest,  being  twins.  Father 
Abraham  Smith,  being  six  years  old,  remembered  a  great  many  incidents 
of  this  journey.  Grandmother  rode  a  large  horse  and  led  another  horse  on 
which  the  twins  were  placed,   each   in   a  basket,   especially   prepared,   being 


790  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

fastened  together  and  placed  on  tlie  horse,  one  on  each  side,  so  that  they 
balanced.  In  these  baskets  were  good  pillows,  so  that  it  made  a  comfortable 
way  of  riding.  They  made  a  rule  of  going  into  camp  on  Friday  evening, 
always  trying  to  camp  on  some  stream  of  water,  and  not  breaking  camp  until 
Monday  morning.  This  gave  them  a  chance  to  do  their  washing,  and  Sunday 
was  strictly  a  day  of  rest  and  for  religious  worship.  They  crossed  the  Ohio 
river  and  located  at  Columbia,  five  or  six  miles  above  the  present  site  of 
Cincinnati.  The  fort  was  located  where  Cincinnati  now  stands,  and  William 
Henry  Harrison,  then  a  young  man,  had  charge  of  the  fort.  During  the 
years  of  residence  on  a  farm  near  Cincinnati  Grandfather  practiced  medicine 
and  spent  the  time  in  preaching,  the  records  of  the  old  Baptist  church  showing 
that  he  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  Duck  Creek  church  in  1801.  In  1805 
Grandfather  moved  to  what  was  then  known  as  the  Miami  country,  and 
located  on  Donnel's  creek,  about  seven  miles  west  of  the  present  city  of 
Springfield,  Ohio.  But  few  others  had  preceded  him  to  the  i\Iad  river 
country.  Flere  he  and  his  sons  located  on  three  half-sections  of  land,  and  a 
part  of  this  in  after  years  became  the  home  of  my  father,  Abraham  Smith. 
Here  on  this  farm  was  born  our  family  of  nine  children,  I  being  the  youngest. 
Grandfather  spent  nearly  all  his  later  years  in  life  in  preaching,  traveling  on 
horseback.  In  two  or  three  different  years  he  traveled  as  far  east  as  the  state 
of  New  York,  attending  yearly  meetings,  which  were  similar  to  our  camp 
meetings.  Father,  having  sold  his  farm,  in  September,  1845,  with  two  good 
horses  and  a  covered  wagon,  started  for  the  West,  in  fact,  for  the  far  West, 
which  meant  Illinois.  Our  line  of  travel  was  the  old  National  Road,  built  by 
the  United  States  government.  It  was  completed  as  far  west  as  Sprino"field, 
Ohio,  but  from  there  on  through  Indiana  to  Terre  Haute  the  roadway  was 
cleared  through  the  heavy  timber  one  hundred  feet  wide,  bridges  and  culverts 
were  built,  Washington  street,  Indianapolis,  being  a  part  of  this  road.  About 
this  time  the  road  was  turned  over  by  the  government  to  the  states  through 
which  it  passed.  The  first  place  of  note,  and  dreaded  by  all  movers,  was 
what  was  known  as  the  Black  Swamp,  which  lay  about  half  way  between 
Indianapolis  and  the  Ohio  state  line,  and  was  about  thirty  miles  through. 
The  next  place  v  "s  Indianapolis,  which  was  a  straggling  town  with  but  little 
trade  and  a  poor  faiminn-  country  surrounding  it,  and  was  noted  only  as  the 
capital  of  the  state.  The  next  place  we  came  to  was  Terre  Haute.  It  and 
Lafayette  were  two  of  the  best  towns  in  Indiana  on  account  of  the  river 
navigation  and  the  Wabash-Erie  canal,  which  extended  from  Toledo,  Ohio,  to 
Evans\-ille.  Indiana.  Father  located  in  Lawrence  county,  Illinois,  and  bought 
an  impni\ed    farm   alxnit   twenty   miles   west   of  \"incennes.      Deer  and   wild 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  79I 

turkey  \\ere  plentiful.  Deer  were  killed  from  October  ist  to  February  ist. 
Every  neighborhood  had  its  hunter  who  would  usually  kill  from  seventy-five 
to  one  hundred  deer  during  the  season.  There  was  good  demand  for  the 
hides  and  a  saddle  of  venison  (which  meant  the  hams  and  loins  together). 
In  the  fall  of  the  year  everybody  could  have  venison.  Every  cabin  had  its 
spinning  wheel  and  loom.  We  raised  our  sheep  and  flax  and  made  our  own 
clothing.  Corn  and  buckwheat  was  largely  used  for  bread,  as  there  was 
but  little  wheat  raised  at  this  time.  There  were  a  few  horse  mills  for  grind- 
ing corn  scattered  over  the  country.  Horses  were  fastened  to  a  lever  and 
driven  around  and  around,  but  it  would  take  two  or  three  hours  to  grind  a 
bushel  of  corn.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  we  would  take  a  lead  of  corn  and 
buckwheat  sufificient  to  last  until  the  next  April,  and  go  some  distance  to 
a  water  mill.  The  buckwheat  when  ground  was  carried  by  hand  to  a  bolt  and 
many  a  time  have  I  turned  the  crank  to  bolt  the  flour  for  our  buckwheat  cake. 
\\'e  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  we  had  the  pure  buckwheat  flour,  but 
sometimes  it  was  pretty  gritty,  being  threshed  on  the  ground  and  cleaned  by 
making  wind  with  a  sheet  instead  of  a  wind  mill,  which  was  often  done.  The 
attraction  for  the  young  people  was  preaching,  the  Sunday  and  singing 
schools.  Camp  meetings  were  looked  forward  to  with  unusual  interest,  the 
camp  ground  being  located  near  us  in  a  beautiful  grove.  Instead  of  the 
modern  cottage  was  the  log  cabin,  covered  with  clapboards,  with  weight  poles 
to  hold  them  in  place.  Puncheons  were  split  from  trees  for  the  floors  of 
the  cabins  and  for  seats.  The  meetings  would  continue  about  six  weeks. 
The  spiritual  feeling  ran  high  and  was  demonstrated  in  no  uncertain  way  in 
the  preaching,  singing,  prayers  and  shouting.  It  was  looked  forward  to  as 
one  great  general  meeting  ground,  where  families  and  friends,  separated  by 
the  demands  of  necessity  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  were  reunited.  It 
meant  social  as  well  as  religious  life  to  our  forefathers.  Their  lives  were 
lived  along  different  lines  than  these  of  their  grandchildren.  They  took  time 
to  live  and  enjoy  as  they  went  along.  With  laden  baskets  of  good  things  to 
eat,  the  father,  mother  and  children  went  happily  on  their  way  to  the  grove 
where  the  meeting  was  to  be  held,  and  once  there,  happiness  reigned  supreme. 
The  women  discussed  household  afifairs,  the  men  crops  and  politics,  until  the 
hour  of  service.  When  the  speaker  spoke,  as  a  rule,  it  was  not  in  the  well 
trained  tones  of  the  modern  scholar  of  theology,  or  the  picturesque  language 
of  the  modern  evangelist.  He  held  forth  on  the  iniquities  of  life,  the  dangers 
of  hell.  His  voice  was  loud,  his  gestures  at  times  uncouth,  but  the  flame  of 
a  stern  resolve  blazed  from  his  eyes.  We  had  giants  in  those  days,  Peter 
Cartwright,  James  B.  Finlev.  Richard  Hargrave  and  others,  and  much  good 


793  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

was  done;  each  and  all  accepted  the  simple  statement  that,  "Be  good  and  vou 
go  to  heaven — be  bad  and  you  go  to  hell,"  as  conclusive,  and  shaped  their 
lives  accordingl)'.  As  the  result  of  these  meetings,  think  of  the  home  life 
kept  pure,  the  sorrowing  hearts  comforted,  the  children  trained,  spiritual  life 
sustained,  the  moral  sentiment  inculcated ;  giving  permanency  to  order,  value 
to  property,  dignity  to  law,  lifting  the  fallen,  and  educating  the  ignorant.  If 
the  shades  of  our  grandparents  attended  one  of  our  modern  services,  listened 
to  the  learned  lecture  of  the  preacher,  heard  the  music  of  the  organ,  the  trained 
voices  singing  the  hymns,  they  would  wonder  much  wherein  it  was  an  im- 
provement over  the  old  days.  When  some  sister  would  start  singing  with 
much  earnestness  some  good  old-fashioned  hymn  she  thought  suitable  for  the 
occasion,  immediately  after  instead  of  the  congregation  looking  around  at  her 
with  shocked  looks,  the  entire  crowd  would  join  in  and  sing  itself  into  a 
trance  of  spiritual  enjoyment,  that  made  rugged  faces  beautiful,  and  lifted 
them  upward  to  the  plane  of  higher  things. 

In  the  summer  of  1852  I  taught  a  subscription  school  in  one  of  the  camp- 
ground cabins,  and  boarded  at  the  homes  of  the  scholars.  In  our  spelling 
matches  I  was  seldom  beaten.  I  had  mastered  arithmetic,  in  addition,  subtrac- 
tion, multiplication  and  division,  which  was  all  we  needed  at  that  time,  could 
write  a  plain  hand  and  was  in  demand  as  a  teacher.  In  the  winter  of  1852-3 
I  taught  a  school  in  one  of  the  oldest  school  districts  in  the  county  and  taught 
the  same  school  in  the  winter  of  1853-4.  In  the  winter  of  1854-5  I  was 
called  to  a  new  district,  a  large  new  house,  and  a  school  that  averaged  fifty 
scholars.  Here  was  a  number  of  grown-up  ladies  and  men,  well  satisfied 
and  considered  a  complete  education  all  they  needed  if  they  could  leirn  to 
spell,  read  and  write  and  master  the  first  four  divisions  of  arithmetic.  In  the 
summer  time  I  worked  on  the  farm  and  at  any  extra  jobs  that  I  could  get, 
if  I  could  make  twenty-five  cents  a  day.  The  fall  before  I  left  home  I  con- 
tracted for  and  made  five  thousand  rails  at  thirty-five  cents  per  hundred  to 
be  ricked  upon  the  stump.  In  those  days  we  needed  but  little  money  and 
had  less  than  we  needed,  our  only  money  for  years  being  silver  ^Mexican 
quarters  and  English  bits  (twelve  and  one-half  cents),  and  fip-penny  bits, 
six  and  one-fourth  cents.  Sometimes  we  would  get  a  fi\-e-franc  French  piece, 
worth  ninety-five  cents. 

In  March,  1855,  I  decided  to  come  to  Lafayette  and  got  on  a  steamboat 
at  Vincennes  which  was  loaded  from  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  for  Lafayette,  Indiana, 
arriving  in  Lafayette  March  15,  1855.  When  we  tied  up  at  the  wharf  at  the 
foot  of  Main  street  there  were  two  other  steamboats  from  New  Orleans  load- 
ing or  unloading.     Our  entire  traffic  was  almost  entirely  by  water,  either  by 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND. 


793 


the  ri\er  or  canal  and  the  traffic  on  the  canal,  both  freight  and  passenger,  was 
at  its  best.  The  W^abash  raih-cad  was  building  at  this  time,  and  when  com- 
pleted two  years  later  killed  the  canal  and,  in  fact,  all  water  transportation. 
Fowler,  Earl  &  Reynolds  had  a  wholesale  grocery  store  in  the  north  end  of 
the  Purdue  block,  and  the  country-  for  a  hundred  miles  east,  north  and  west 
traded  here.  There  was  a  hotel  and  wagon  yard  on  the  bill  A\-here  tlie  Oak- 
land House  is,  and  also  a  betel  and  wagon  yard,  known  as  the  Fountain 
House,  located  where  the  Kern  packing-  house  now  is.  In  the  fall  of  the 
year  these  yards  were  crowded  with  farmers  and  movers,  teams  and  wagons. 
We  had  four  first-class  hotels  at  this  time,  the  Labr,  the  Bramble,  then  new, 
the  Jones  Hotel,  where  the  Earl  &  Hatcher  block  now  stands,  and  the  City 
Hotel,  where  the  St.  Nicholas  now  is.  These  all  did  a  thriving  business, 
usually  crowded,  as  travel  was  heavy.  I  had  a  brother,  Joseph  K.  Smith,  and 
an  uncle,  Ira  Smith,  who  lived  here,  and  after  staying  a  few  days  and  not 
finding  anything  I  could  get  at  I  got  on  a  packet  and  went  to  Logansport. 
From  ther£  I  went  twelve  mil^s  northeast  of  Logansport  and  stopped  with 
a  cousin,  and  in  the  neighborhood  I  took  a  job  of  clearing  fifteen  acres  of 
land.  It  was  a  very  thick  and  heavy  growth  of  young  timber  and  brush  and 
I  had  to  leave  the  ground  ready  for  the  plow.  This  was  a  hard  job,  and  as  I 
had  worked  many  a  day  before  at  twenty-five  cents  a  day,  I  thought  I  could 
do  so  again,  and  could  not  afford  to  hy  itlle.  A\'hile  here  I  went  one  and  a 
half  miles  to  Sunday-school  at  the  old  Bethel  ^Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
Stephen  Euritt  was  our  teacher,  and  the  friendship  of  teacher  and  scholar 
lasted  f(jr  nearly  fifty-four  years,  we  ba\'ing  kept  in  touch  and  met  frequently 
up  until  the  time  of  his  death,  in  February,  1909.  He  was  well  fixed  in  this 
world's  goods  and  died  rich  in  the  prospect  of  a  happy  future. 

While  here  I  was  well  acquainted  with  a  five-hundred-acre  farm — little 
do  we  know  of  our  future,  as  I  have  owned  this  farm  for  the  last  ten  years. 
When  done  with  this  job  of  clearing,  in  October,  I  decided  to  go  back  to 
Lafayette,  came  down  on  a  packet,  landed  at  the  foot  of  Ferrv  street  at  four 
o'clock  a.  m.,  October  15,  1855.  Whatever  money  I  had  earned  outside  of 
my  clothing  and  necessary  expenses  up  until  I  was  twenty-one  vears  old  I 
sent  to  my  father,  so  that  when  I  counted  my  money  on  this  October  morn- 
ing I  had  nine  dollars  and  five  cents.  My  brother  Joseph  was  running  a 
meat  market  in  the  cellar  under  the  Barbee  Bank,  southwest  corner  of  the 
square,  now  the  Emsing  corner.  I  hired  to  him  to  do  whatever  I  could  do, 
from  May  ist  to  about  December  ist.  We  attended  market  on  Tuesday  and 
Saturday  mornings,  at  the  market  space  west  of  the  Labr  house.  I  tried  to 
learn  every  detail  cf  the  business,  and  in  the  winter  of  1856  I  bought  my 


794  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

brother's  business,  which  included  slaughter  house,  two  horses  and  meat 
wagon,  tools,  etc..  agreeing  to  pay  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  dollars,  making  two  notes,  one-half  due  in  six  months  and  one-half 
due  in  one  year,  notes  drawing  ten  per  cent,  interest.  I  took  possession  the 
first  day  of  March,  1857.  I  could  raise  about  one  hundred  dollars,  but  during 
the  year  I  had  formed  the  friendship  of  some  noble  men,  which  was  better 
now  to  me  than  money.  Among  these  were  Benjamin  Crist,  one  of  God's 
noblemen,  rich  in  friendship  and  confidence.  He  says:  "I  have  five  good 
steers  well  fattened ;  I  want  five  cents  for  them ;  you  come  out  and  the  boy 
will  help  you  drive  them  in,  weigh  them  and  when  tax-paying  time  comes 
let  me  have  enough  money  to  pay  my  tax.  and  the  balance  I  will  get  as  I  need 
it."  C.  M.  Crist,  who  lives  near  the  old  home  place  now,  was  the  boy.  I 
started  out  to  pay  those  notes  as  they  became  due,  and  I  did  it  and  had  some 
money  over.  These  were  the  days  of  "wild-cat"  money.  A  large  portion  of 
the  money  in  circulation  was  of  this  class,  such  money  as  the  " Alichigan  Plank 
Road,"  "Logansport  Insurance  Company,"  was  largely  in  circulation  here. 
The  State  Bank  of  Indiana  and  the  State  Bank  of  Ohio  had  furnished  a  good 
paper  money  for  all  purposes,  but  their  charters,  which  were  for  twenty  years, 
having  expired  the  legislature  refused  to  renew  them  and  thev  went  into 
liquidation.  This  left  us  for  about  two  yenrs  with  no  banking  law  until  the 
winter  of  1857-8,  when  the  legislature  of  Indiana  passed  a  hw  authorizing 
banks  to  organize  and  issue  circulation  by  depositing  with  the  secretary  of 
state  certain  class  of  bonds.  Under  this  law  the  Gramercy  Bank  was  or- 
ganized and  did  business  here  in  the  Jones  Hotel  building.  Two  shrewd 
young  men  from  New  York  state  started  this  bank  and  issued  a  large  cir- 
culation. They  decided  to  start  another  bank  in  the  south  part  of  the  state 
and  went  to  the  secretary  of  state  and  asked  him  to  loan  them,  for  a  few 
days,  the  use  of  the  Ijonds  they  had  deposited  for  the  purpose  of  organizing 
a  new  bank.  He,  wishing  to  accommodate  them,  which  is  liable  to  be  the 
case  in  all  elected  ofiicers,  let  them  have  the  bonds,  but  instead  of  starting  a 
new  bank  they  came  back  to  Lafayette,  closed  their  bank  in  the  evening,  and 
between  the  daylights  they  took  everything  of  value  from  the  bank  and  left 
for  parts  unknown.  The  next  morning  the  doors  failed  to  open  at  the  proper 
time,  which  soon  drew  an  anxious  crowd  of  depositors.  When  the  safe  was 
opened  everything  was  gone,  nothing  left  to  the  depositors  or  to  redeem  the 
circulation.  Six  or  eight  years  afterward  these  shrewd  young  men  communi- 
cated from  Canada  through  an  attorney  here  and  arranged  to  settle  with  their 
depositors  in  full.  l)y  giving  them  their  individual  notes.     This  stopped  all 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  795 

criminal  proceeding  and  ended  the  chapter,  as  the  depositors  never  received 
anything  on  their  notes. 

The  State  Bank  of  Indiana  had  branch  banks  located  in  some  of  the 
best  towns  of  the  state.  Cyrus  G.  Ball,  whose  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of 
Uncle  Ira  Smith's,  was  president  of  the  bank  here  during  the  years  of  its 
existence.  The  bank  was  located  at  the  southwest  corner  of  Sixth  and  Main 
streets,  now  occupied  by  Kienly's  drug  store.  The  bank  building  and  Judge 
Ball's  residence  were  built  together  and  part  of  the  residence  as  it  then  stood 
adjoins  the  drug  store  on  the  south.  The  style  of  these  bank  buildings  was 
the  same  all  over  the  state,  four  large  columns,  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet 
high,  forming  an  alcove  in  front.  In  the  spring  of  1859  I  bought  a  house 
and  lot  of  John  L.  Reynolds  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Fifth  and  Wall  streets. 
This  I  remodeled  by  making  it  from  a  one-story  to  a  two-story  house,  ar- 
ranging it  for  a  future  residence.  On  the  first  day  of  June,  1859,  my  wife  and 
I  were  married.  Her  maiden  name  was  Melissa  E.  Johnston,  and  she  lived 
with  her  mother,  a  widow,  in  New  Carlisle,  Ohio.  Her  father  and  mother 
were  pioneer  settlers  on  Donnel's  creek,  and  owned  a  farm  a  short  distance 
from  father's  farm. 

The  year  i860  brought  with  it  the  most  exciting  political  campaign 
that  has  ever  occurred  in  this  country.  The  Republican  party  in  the  West 
had  such  known  leaders  as  Lincoln  and  Logan,  of  Illinois;  Indiana  had  its 
Henry  S.  Lane,  Oliver  P.  Morton,  Schuyler  Colfax,  James  Wilson,  memlaer 
of  Congress  from  this  district  and  brother  to  the  late  William  C.  Wilson, 
of  this  city.  Lafayette  had  its  Dan  Mace,  Godlove  S.  Orth,  William  C. 
Wilson,  Albert  S.  White  and  others.  We  fully  realized  that  a  crisis  was 
imminent,  but  the  North  had  fully  decided  that  the  time  had  come  when  the 
slavery  question  should  be  settled,  and  voted  accordingly.  The  result  of  the 
campaign  was  that  Lincoln  was  elected,  having  carried  every  northern  state. 
Secession  of  the  extreme  southern  states  followed.  When  the  telegraph  came 
saying  that  Fort  Sumter  in  Charleston  harbor  had  been  fired  on,  here  in  La- 
fayette the  court  house,  church  and  fire  l^ells  rang,  excited,  determined  men 
paraded  the  streets  led  by  the  martial  music,  business  was  suspended,  such  men 
as  H.  T.  Sample,Thomas  T.  Benbridge,  Jo  Hanna,  Martin  L.  Pierce,  Adams 
Earl,  Moses  Fowler.  Gen.  J.  J.  Reynolds  and  the  Reynolds  brothers,  John 
L.  and  William  F.,  the  Heaths,  Pykes  and  others,  headed  the  procession. 
Such  scenes  as  this  occurred  all  over  the  North,  and  when  the  first  call  was 
made  for  volunteers  the  ranks  were  filled  and  hundreds  turned  away.  A  re- 
cruiting office  was  opened  in  a  small  frame  building  about  where  the  Gillian 
Fatins:  House  is.     The  Packard  Iirothers  plavcd  the  fife  and  drum,  and   for 


796  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

the  next  tliree  years  from  daylight  until  midnight  you  could  hear  that  martial 
music.  Four  or  five  regiments  were  recruited  here  as  headquarters,  and  their 
camping  ground  was  on  the  hill  south  of  the  city.  If  Third  street  was  ex- 
tended south  over  the  hill,  it  would  strike  the  camping  ground.  When  a 
regiment  was  filled  the  country  and  city  would  turn  out  to  see  them  leave  for 
the  front.  It  might  he  that  nearly  every  one  in  the  crowd  had  a  relative 
or  a  friend  in  that  regiment,  well  knowing  what  it  meant  when  they  said 
good-bye,  but  there  was  no  flinching  in  those  days.  In  the  summer  of  1862 
I  had  saved  money  enough  to  pay  for  and  I  bought  eighty  acres  of  land  at 
fifty  dollars  per  acre,  and  had  enough  money  left  to  buy  teams  and  tool^ 
for  farming.  The  land  was  located  about  the  center  of  the  Wea  plains.  I 
moved  on  the  farm  and  put  out  a  crop  of  wheat  that  fall.  During  the  winter 
I  bought  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  adjoining  me  on  the  north,  of  the 
Ellsworth  heirs,  giving  fifty  dollars  an  acre,  and  giving  my  notes  at  eight 
per  cent,  interest.  Soon  after,  I  bought  eighty  acres  more  at  fifty  dollars 
per  acre.  This  gave  me  three  hundred  acres  of  land  lying  in  a  scjuare  farm, 
and  now  owned  by  William  \\  Stuart.  I  had  on  two  occasions  tried  to  en- 
list, but  it  was  at  a  time  when  the  government  could  not  arm  the  men  as 
fast  as  they  offered  their  services,  but  now  I  was  situated  to  do  much  more 
good  for  the  cause  than  I  could  ha\-e  done  in  the  ranks.  I  was  elected  trus- 
tee of  the  township  and  served  in  this  oifice  four  terms.  We  organized  our 
township  of  Wayne  to  fill  cur  quota  of  men  for  the  armv  at  call.  After  the 
first  battle  of  Bull's  Run,  where  the  Union  army  met  a  reverse  and  in  fact 
was  meeting  reverses  on  every  hand,  volunteering  became  very  slow,  and 
the  government  had  to  resort  to  a  draft  to  fill  the  depleted  ranks.  Everv 
able-bodied  man  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  forty-five  was  subject 
to  draft.  The  draft  was  for  three  hundred  thousand  men.  divided  among 
the  states,  giving  each  state  its  quota,  the  state  divided  into  counties,  the 
counties  to  townships,  so  that  each  township  knew  the  number  of  men  it  hid 
to  raise.  Here  our  township  organization  came  in.  Tipijeciuioe  countv  Ind 
appropriated  three  hundred  and  sixty-three  tin  usand  dollars  to  be  used  to 
support  the  families  of  those  that  went  to  the  army,  and  the  trustee  of  each 
township  had  this  in  charge.  The  government  had  offered  a  bounty  of  four 
hundred  dollars  for  any  that  would  re-enlist,  whose  time  had  expired;  say, 
Wayne  township's  quota  was  twenty  men,  so  by  taking  the  four  hundred  dol- 
lars of  government  bounty  and  adding  from  five  to  eight  hundred  dollars 
to  it  with  the  provision  that  the  onmty  would  'Support  their  families,  we 
had  no  trouble  in  filling  our  quota  (if  the  draft  for  three-year  men  from  men 
who  Iiad  seen  service  and  were  drilled.     A  man  that  was  drafted  if  he  pre- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  797 

ferred  to  go  and  take  the  bounty  could  do  so,  but  we  had  cases  where  men 
were  drafted  who  had  large  families  or  some  one  dependent  on  them,  and  in 
these  cases  a  substitute  came  in.  These  years  of  the  war  were  the  farmer's 
harvest.  It  was  an  easy  time  to  pay  debts,  as  crops  were  good  and  prices 
high.  I  have  had  the  honor  and  pleasure  of  shaking  hands  with  and  hearing 
speak  six  of  our  Presidents,  namely :  Lincoln,  Grant,  McKinley,  Harrison, 
Roosevelt  and  Taft.  I  have  also  shaken  hands  and  heard  Fremont  and 
Blaine,  candidates  for  the  presidency.  I  have  cast  fourteen  votes  for  Presi- 
dent. Three  of  these  votes  were  lest,  Fremont,  Blaine  and  one  for  Harrison. 
In  1884  I  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  for  county  treasurer  and  Blaine 
was  the  candidate  for  President.  He  carried  the  county  by  one  hundred  and 
eleven  majority,  and  I  was  elected  by  about  the  same  majority.  I  was 
nominated  for  a  second  term  two  years  later  and  was  re-elected  by  between 
thirteen  and  fourteen  hundred  majority.  September  i,  1885,  we  moved  back 
to  Lafayette,  as  I  went  into  the  treasurer's  office  August  25,  1885.  We  had 
spent  twenty-three  years  on  the  farm.  In  the  summer  of  1890  the  Lafayette 
National  Bank,  John  W.  Heath  president,  arranged  to  close  out  their  busi- 
ness on  account  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Heath.  This  left  an  opening  for  a  new 
bank,  and  at  the  instigation  of  James  Murdock,  Charles  B.  Stuart,  John  B. 
Ruger,  William  C.  Mitchell,  John  Wagner,  Sr.,  S.  C.  Curtis  and  \\\  W. 
Smith  early  in  October  met  in  the  office  now  occupied  by  Brockenbrough 
as  an  insurance  office  to  talk  in  reg-ard  to  organizing  a  national  bank.  The 
result  of  that  talk  was  the  organization  of  the  Merchants  National  Bank 
with  a  capital  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  A  board  of  directors  was 
elected,  including  the  above  names,  to  which  was  added  William  Horn.  The 
directors  organized  by  electing  James  Murdock  president,  W.  W.  Smith 
vice-president,  these  officers  being  continued  up  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Mur- 
dock. The  bank  opened  its  doors  January  i,  1891,  and  had  only  gotten  a 
good  start  when  the  panic  of  1893-4-5-6  came  on.  From  a  high  state  of 
prosperity  which  we  had,  for  three  and  one-half  years  came  one  of  the  worst 
depressions  this  country  has  ever  had.  A  horse  that  ordinarily  would  sell 
for  two  hundred  dollars  would  bring  forty  or  fifty  dollars:  wheat  was 
forty  cents,  corn  fifteen  to  eighteen  cents,  and  I  sold  oats  at  eight  cents  a 
bushel.  Land  dropped  one-half  or  more.  These  prices  did  not  fully  reflect 
the  effects  of  the  panic,  as  there  was  no  demand  for  anything.  On  July  4, 
1887,  through  the  efforts  of  James  Murdock,  natural  gas  was  pij^ed  into  the 
city  and  a  demonstration  was  made  at  Columbian  Park.  We  had  the  benefit 
of  this  fuel  for  about  sixteen  years.  Through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Murdock 
an  interurban  line  was  built  from  here  to  Logansport,  connecting  with  Ft. 


798  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Wayne,  and  also  another  one  from  here  to  the  Battle  Ground,  expecting  it  to 
be  extended  to  Ash  Grove,  Brookston,  Chahners,  Reynolds  to  Alonticello. 
To  realize  the  changes  in  the  city,  go  back  to  the  time  when  I  came  here, 
when  Lafayette  was  confined  west  of  Sixth  street  and  south  of  Brown  street. 
The  old  cemetery  was  still  in  existence  where  the  German  Catholic  church 
now  is.  The  fall  of  1858  the  county  fair  was  held  on  the  commons  a  little 
east  of  the  cemetery.  The  towns  of  the  county,  many  of  them  which  are 
now  wiped  off  the  map,  or  are  known  by  other  names,  follow  :  Starting  u]) 
the  Wabash  we  had  Americus,  Jewettsport,  Harrisonville  (now  Battle 
Ground),  Fulton,  Kingston  (now  West  Lafayette).  West  Lafayette  was  then 
located  on  the  river  bank  just  below  the  railroad  bridge.  On  down  a  little 
above  the  old  mouth  of  Wea  creek  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  was  located 
Cincinnatus.  Here  was  a  ferry  and  people  from  west  crossed  here  and  went 
up  the  creek  to  the  Hawkins  grist  mill.  This  town  was  extinct  when  I  came 
here  and  was  only  referred  to  by  the  older  settlers  as  the  probable  site  of  the 
old  Lidian  town.  This  theory  was  sustained  by  the  fact  that  many  Lidian 
graves  were  found  in  the  bottoms  opposite  the  town  of  Cincinnatus  and  was 
supposed  to  be  an  Indian  burying  ground.  Li  later  years  the  great  number 
of  skeletons  that  have  been  exposed  by  the  washing  and  the  plowing  of  the 
soil  proves  this  was  a  burying  ground.  We  come  down  the  river  to  Gran- 
ville, on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  Then  on  the  north  side  was  LaGrange, 
near  Black  Rock,  and  farther  down  on  the  south  side  near  the  Fountain 
county  line  was  located  Maysville,  nearly  opposite  Independence.  A  great 
amount  of  pork  was  bought  and  shipped  from  Maysville  to  New  Orleans  by 
John  Sherry,  Asa  Earl  and  others.  We  come  now  to  inland  towns.  There 
was  Middleton  (now  West  Point),  Columbia  (now  Romney),  Baker's  Corner 
(now  Stockwell).  The  town  of  Dayton  was  originally  platted  as  Marquis  De 
Fairfield,  and  Dayton.  The  legislature  in  1831  passed  an  ate  stating  that  on 
account  of  the  confusion  of  names  that  the  town  be  called  Dayton. 

I  have  belonged  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  since  May, 
1858.  Our  family  consists  of  four  children,  namely:  Marcellus  L.  Smith, 
born  in  1861,  and  Rosa  B.  Smith,  his  wife,  have  one  daughter,  Edith  Mote 
Smith,  aged  eighteen  years.  Werdie  P.  Smith,  born  in  1866,  and  Gertrude 
Fort  Smith,  his  wife,  have  two  children,  Warren  W.  Smith  and  Loretta, 
aged  ten  and  two  years  respectively;  these  two  families  live  in  Oakland, 
California.  Carrie  B.  Smith,  born  in  1863,  and  Adam  Wallace,  her  husband, 
have  two  children,  Kenneth  and  Frances,  ages  eighteen  and  eight  years. 
Ddoss  W.  Smith,  born  1874,  and  Clara  Lang  Smith,  his  wife,  have  one 
daughter,  Sidney  M.  Smith,  three  years  old.  Deloss  W.  Smith  is  assistant 
cashier  and  receiving  teller  at  the  Merchants  National  Bank  of  this  citv. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  799 

This  article  is  much  longer  than  I  had  thought  of  writing,  but  there 
are  so  many  things  in  the  way  of  reminiscences  of  the  pioneer  days  and  of 
early  settlers  that  if  I  ha\e  been  able  to  make  a  few  uf  these  plain,  I  am 
content. 

W.  W.  Smith. 


MONFORD  PAUL. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  Monford  Paul  did  not  seek  any  royal  road  to 
success  but  began  in  a  legitimate  way  to  advance  himself,  he  is  today  num- 
bered among  the  leading  agriculturists  and  representative  citizens  of  Perry 
township,  Tippecanoe  county,  having  reached  the  goal  of  prosperity  and  in- 
dependence because  he  has  worked  for  it  and  deserved  it.  His  birth  occurred 
February  13,  1840,  in  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  son  of  Reuben  Paul, 
also  of  that  county.  The  latter  was  born  October  12,  1812,  the  son  of  John 
and  Hetty  (Haupt)  Paul,  Hetty  Haupt  having  also  been  a  native  of  Lehigh 
county.  The  Paul  family  were  residents  of  the  old  Keystone  state  for  sev- 
eral generations.  Reuben  Paul's  education  was  obtained  in  the  common 
schools.  He  was  reared  on  the  home  farm,  and  when  twenty  years  of  age 
began  to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade,  which  he  followed  with  much  success 
for  twenty  years.  On  August  3,  1834,  he  married  Levina  Haupt,  a  native 
of  Allen  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  daughter  of  George  and  ]\Iary  Haupt. 
Reuben  Paul  lived  in  White  Hall,  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania,  until  185 1, 
when,  in  company  with  Charles  Moyer,  Urwin  Jones  and  Charles  Miller,  he 
came  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  this  coterie  of  rugged  frontiersmen  hav- 
ing made  the  toilsome  journey  with  one  two-horse  team  which  drew  an  old- 
style  wagon.  They  were  three  weeks  and  three  days  making  the  trip.  Reuben 
settled  in  section  26,  Perry  township,  where  he  got  eighty  acres  of  land, 
fifty-five  acres  of  which  had  been  cleared,  and  on  it  stood  a  small  frame 
house.  For  the  whole  he  paid  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 
He  made  a  splendid  home  here,  built  a  fine  brick  dwelling  in  1859,  and  had 
one  of  the  best  places  in  the  township. 

To  Reuben  Paul  and  wife  eleven  children  were  born,  namely :  Thomas 
F.,  a  carpenter  and  undertaker  living  at  Piermont,  Indiana;  Tilghman  is 
deceased;  Susanna  married  Joseph  Peterson,  of  Battle  Ground,  this  county; 
Monford,  of  this  review;  Alfred,  a  farmer  in  Perry  township;  Mary  Ann 
married  James  Wetzell,  of  Carroll  county,  Indiana ;  Sarah  married  William 


800  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Roth,  of  Carroll  county;  Rebecca  is  the  widow  of  Thomas  Yoiint  and  lives 
at  Mulberry,  Indiana;  Catherine  is  deceased;  Fremont,  who  livetl  on  the 
old  homestead  in  Perry  township,  is  now  deceased.  Four  of  these  sons  were  in 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion  and  made  gallant  soldiers.  Thomas,  Monford  and 
Tilghman  all  enlisted  for  one  year,  in  February',  1865,  in  Company  B,  One 
Himdred  and  Fiftieth  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry;  Alfred  enlisted 
in  November  of  that  year  for  three  years  in  the  Sixty-fourth  Battery,  Tenth 
Artillery.  The  parents  of  these  children,  Reuben  and  Hetty  Paul.  !i\ed  to 
celebrate  their  golden  wedding.  They  were  members  of  the  Lutheran  church 
and  were  good  people. 

Monford  Paul  received  only  a  limited  education  owing  to  the  lack  of 
schools  and  the  fact  that  it  was  early  necessary  for  him  to  work.  He  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade  and  became  a  very  skilled  workman.  On  January  i, 
1868.  he  decided  to  start  the  New  Year  right  by  marrv'ing  the  lady  of  his 
choice,  Amanda  DeLong,  who  was  born  in  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania, 
the  daughter  of  Peter  DeLong,  a  full  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere  in 
this  work. 

After  his  marriage,  Monford  Paul  settled  in  Clinton  county,  Indiana, 
where  he  remained  two  years  and  got  a  good  start  on  the  road  to  prosperity. 
He  lived  at  Dayton,  Indiana,  for  six  years.  Then  he  lived  with  his  parents  for 
a  period  of  eighteen  years,  or  until  their  death.  In  1894  he  located  at 
Pettit,  Indiana,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  worked  at  the  carpenter's 
trade  for  many  years  and  built  some  of  the  best  houses  and  barns  in  the  com- 
munities where  he  lived,  being  a  ver}-  skilled  mechanic.  He  is  now^  living 
in  honorable  retirement  and  is  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  early  years  of  toil. 
During  his  career  as  a  soldier  he  was  in  Virginia,  having  taken  part  in  the 
hot  engagements  in  the  famous  Shenandoah  valley  and  in  different  places. 

In  his  political  relations,  ^Ir.  Paul  is  a  Republican,  and  he  and  his  wife 
are  members  of  the  Oxford  Reform  church.  No  people  in  the  vicinity  of 
Pettit  have  more  friends  or  are  better  known  than  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Paul  and 
their  children. 


GEORGE  \V.  SWITZER,  D.  D. 

Since  the  early  pioneer  days  the  name  Switzer  has  been  a  familiar  one 
in  Tippecanoe  county,  and  only  a  cursory  glance  down  the  annals  of  the  same 
is  sufficient  to  ascertain  that  members  of  this  family  during  each  succeeding 
generation  have  played  well  their  parts  in  the  development  and  general  prog- 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  8oi 

ress  of  this  locality.  Perhaps  one  of  the  best  known  of  the  present  gener- 
ation is  the  Rev.  George  ^^^  Switzer,  of  Lafayette,  who  was  born  in  Shelby 
township,  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  November  2,  1854,  the  son  of  Peter 
and  Catherine  (Shambaugh)  Switzer,  who  were  eaidy  settlers  in  this  coun- 
ty. Peter  Switzer,  a  rugged  pioneer  and  influential  character  in  the  early 
stages  of  developanent  of  this  section  of  the  Hoosier  state,  was  born  in  Ross 
county.  Ohio.  November  27.  1818,  and  he  was  the  son  of  Abraham  Switzer, 
a  picturesque  type  of  the  "first  settler"  who  came  with  his  family  to  Indiana 
in  1828,  settling  amid  the  wilds  of  Tippecanoe  county.  Catherine  Sham- 
baugh, daughter  of  Jacob  Shambaugh  and  granddaughter  of  George  Sham- 
baugh, who  landed  in  Philadelphia  September  9,  1749,  and  whose  sons 
fought  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  born  in  Perry  county,  Pennsylvania, 
July  I,  1820,  and  she  accompanied  her  parents  to  Tippecanoe  county.  In- 
diana, in  1828.  the  family  settling  on,  a  farm  adjoining  that  of  the  Switzers, 
ten  miles  west  of  Lafayette.  Peter  Switzer  and  Catherine  Shambaugh  were 
united  in  marriage  September  18,  1841,  and  until  the  death  of  Peter  Switzer, 
March  5,  1879,  lived  in  Shelby  township,  most  of  the  time  on  their  farm  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  township.  Peter  Switzer  was  a  man  of  exemplary 
character,  successful  as  an  agriculturist  and  admired  by  his  neighbors  for  his 
generosity  and  friendliness. 

l\Irs.  Peter  Switzer,  a  woman  of  beautiful  Christian  attributes  and  an 
inspiration  to  all  who  come  into  her  grncious  presence,  is  living  in  Otterbein, 
this  state,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-nine  years,  and  is  well  preserved 
in  bodily  health  and  vigor. 

George  W.  Switzer.  whose  name  introduces  these  paragraphs,  is  one  of 
a  family  of  ten  children,  named  in  order  of  birth  as  follows:  John  W..  de- 
ceased; Leah  Jane,  deceased  in  infancy;  Sarah  C,  who  married  James  Darby, 
lives  in  Fowler,  Benton  county,  Indiana;  Mary  M.,  who  married  James 
Hawkins,  lives  in  Otterbein,  Benton  county;  Jacob  resides  in  Tippecanoe 
county;  Abraham  lives  in  Otterbein,  Indiana;  George  ^^^.  subject  of  this 
sketch;  William  F..  a  resident  of  Hammond,  this  state;  Charles  F.  lives  in 
Tippecanoe  county;  Isnac  Elmer  makes  his  home  in  Otterbein. 

Rev.  George  \\'.  Switzer  spent  his  early  youth  on  tlie  home  farm  and 
attended  the  common  schools;  not  satisfied  with  a  primarv  education,  he 
entered  DePauw  (formerly  Asbury)  University,  from  which  institution 
he  was  graduated  in  1881,  and  having  long  been  actuated  bv  a  laudalile  de- 
sire to  enter  the  ministry  he  soon  afterwards  began  regular  work,  and  since 
1882  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Northwest  Indiana  conference,   ^letho- 

Csi) 


802  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

dist  Episcopal  cliurch.      He  was  married  on   September  20,    1881,   to  Lida 
Westfall,  daughter  of  the  late  Harvey  Westfall. 

During  his  ministerial  career,  Reverend  Switzer  has  spent  fifteen  years 
in  Tippecanoe  county.  For  three  years,  from  1884  to  1887,  he  was  the 
pastor  of  Shawnee  Mound  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  has  also  filled 
the  following  appointments:  Morton  circuit,  two  years,  while  a  student  in 
college;  Plainfield  circuit,  Crawfordsville,  Brazil  and  LaPorte.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1895,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  West  Lafayette  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  and  during  his  pastorate  there  of  six  years  he  led  in  the  building 
of  the  splendid  church  edifice  that  now  stands  for  the  use  of  that  congrega- 
tion, costing  over  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  In  1903  he  was  appointed 
presiding  elder  of  the  Lafayette  district,  and  iov  six  years  served  in  that 
capacity.  He  was  delegate  to  the  general  conference  of  this  denomination, 
held  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  May,  1908.  For  the  past  six  years  he  has 
been  president  of  the  Lafayette  Young  ]\Ien's  Christian  Association,  having 
served  in  that  office  during  the  erection  of  the  splendid  new  building  that 
stands  as  one  of  the  public  institutions  of  Lafayette. 

Rev.  George  W.  Switzer  has  long  taken  much  interest  in  the  work  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  tvvice  he  has  been  vice-president 
of  the  state  organization,  and  served  as  its  president  for  one  year.  He  is 
at  the  present  time  a  member  of  the  advisory  committee  of  the  state  board 
of  trustees  and  visitors  of  DePauw  University.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
joint  board. 

At  the  present  time  Doctor  Switzer  is  enjoying  a  rest  from  official  ap- 
pointment, having  finished  his  term  as  district  superintendent.  He  will  give 
special  attention  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  looking  after  its 
finances  and  also  after  the  American  National  Bank,  of  which  he  has  been 
a  director  since  its  organization  and  is  now  its  vice-president. 

Fraternally  the  subject  belongs  to  the  Masonic  order,  holding  member- 
ship at  Crawfordsville,  Indiana,  and  he  has  served  as  prelate  of  the  Craw- 
fordsville Commander}-,  No.  25,  Knights  Templar,  for  a  numlier  of  years. 
Doctor  Switzer's  home  is  at  No.  617  Feriy  street,  Lafayette.  Mrs.  Switzer 
and  the  two  children,  Nellie  G.  and  \'incent  W..  with  the  husband  and  father 
constitute  the  household.  The  son,  a  graduate  of  Illinois  University,  is  con- 
nected with  the  Baker-\'awter  Company,  of  Cliicago  and  New  York.  The 
daughter  is  a  member  of  the  home,  having  graduated  from  DePauw  I'ni- 
versity  and  traveled  in  Euro]ie.  Doctor  Switzer  is  a  member  of  the  l>oard 
of  managers  of  the  Lafayette  Charity  Organization  Society  and  he  and  ^Irs. 
Switzer  are  hoth  members  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Home  Society,  an  in- 
stitution that  looks   after  homeless   women   and   girls. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  803 


LYMAN  LEWIS  DRYER. 


It  is  with  marked  satisfaction  that  the  biographer  adverts  to  the  Hfe 
of  one  who  has  had  a  successful  career  despite  the  most  discouraging  and 
unpromising  circumstances  at  the  outset.  Such  a  hfe  abounds  in  lesson  and 
incentive  and  cannot  but  pro\e  a  stimulus  to  those  whose  fortunes  and  des- 
tinies are  still  matters  for  the  future  to  determine.  The  subject  of  this  sketch, 
though  left  practically  an  orphan  at  the  tender  age  of  ten  years,  courageously 
set  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world  and,  in  the  face  of  obstacles  that 
would  have  utterly  discouraged  one  of  less  stamina  and  determination,  he 
won  for  himself  not  only  a  fair  pecuniary  reward,  but  also  the  honest  regard 
and  esteem  of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  for  many  years  thrown  in  con- 
stant contact.  Now,  in  the  golden  sunset  of  life,  he  can  look  over  the  vista 
of  the  past  and  realize  that,  all  in  all.  the  '"lines  have  been  cast  for  him  in 
pleasant  places,"  and  he  faces  the  future  with  the  calm  assurance  that  "all 
is  well." 

Lyman  Lewis  Dryer  is  a  native  son  of  Lidiana,  having  been  born  at 
Brookville,  Franklin  county,  on  February  6,  1824.  His  parents,  Aaron  and 
Mary  (Lewis)  Dryer,  were  natives  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1833  the  family  removed  from  their  Franklin  county  home  to 
Dayton,  Tippecanoe  county.  Here,  in  the  spring  of  1834,  the  mother  laid 
down  the  burden  of  life,  and  in  the  following  spring  the  father  went  back 
to  his  old  home  in  New  York  state,  where  his  death  afterwards  occurred. 

Lyman  Dryer  was  but  nine  years  of  age  when  he  suffered  the  loss  of  his 
mother  and  but  ten  when  his  father  left  him,  so  that  he  was  practically 
orphaned  at  an  age  when  a  boy  most  needs  the  care,  guidance  and  advice  of 
parents.  Though  deeply  conscious  of  the  seriousness  of  his  condition,  the 
young  lad  bravely  set  out  to  take  care  of  himself.  His  opportunities  for  ob- 
taining an  education  were  extremely  meagre,  but  he  improved  every  chance 
offered  him  to  learn  and  thus  early  in  life  formed  a  habit  which  has  clung 
to  him  ever  since,  that  of  absorbing  information  from  ever^•  source,  until 
today  he  is  considered  a  well-informed  man  along  many  lines. 

The  subject's  first  labor  was  as  a  farm  hand,  though  he  was  variously 
occupied,  gladly  accepting  any  employment  he  could  find,  until  he  was 
eighteen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  Lafayette  and  apprenticed  himself 
to  learn  the  printing  trade  in  the  office  of  the  old  Journal.  He  proved  a  faith- 
ful employee  and  remained  in  that  office  until  about  1847.  His  marriage 
occurred  in   1850,  when  he  went  to  Dayton  and  engaged  in  the  cooperage 


804  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

business.  He  was  careful  in  business  matters  and  honest  in  his  work,  and 
was  successful  in  this  business  to  a  satisfactory  degree,  continuing  to  operate 
the  factory  for  twenty  years,  at  the  end  ut  which  time  he  was  enabled  to  retire 
from  active  business.  He  is  now  taking  lite  comparatively  easy,  though 
still  keenly  alive  to  all  that  is  going  on  in  the  world  about  him.  As  a  testi- 
monial to  his  high  standing  in  the  community,  it  may  be  stated  that  M.v. 
Dryer  has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  over  fifty  consecutive  years,  and 
a  most  notable  fact  in  connection  with  his  administration  of  the  ofhce  is  the 
fact  that  during  this  more  than  half  a  century  of  judicial  service  he  has 
never  had  a  single  case  reversed  by  a  higher  court,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  quite  a  number  of  cases  have  been  appealed  from  his  court.  During  the 
administration  of  President  Benjamin  Harrison,  Air.  Dryer  served  efhciently 
as  the  postmaster  of  Dayton,  his  four  years"  service  being  marked  by  con- 
tinued satisfaction  to  the  patrons  of  the  office.  He  enjoys  the  distinction  of 
having  lived  in  Dayton  longer  than  any  person  now  living  here,  and  is  prob- 
ably better  informed  as  to  local  history  than  any  one  else. 

In  1850  Lyman  L.  Dryer  was  married  to  Drucilla  Blackledge,  a  native 
of  Rush  county,  Indiana,  and  theirs  was  a  most  happy  and  enjoyable  com- 
panionship for  fifty-five  years,  her  death  occurring  in  1905.  She  was  a  lady 
of  many  fine  qualities  of  character  and  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  all 
who  knew  her.  She  was,  as  is  her  husband,  a  inember  of  the  Universalist 
church.  There  is  now  no  church  of  this  denomination  at  Dayton,  but  while 
there  was  one  here  Air.  Dryer  was  one  of  the  most  active  members,  ha\ing 
served  a  number  of  years  as  president  of  the  church  board. 

In  politics  the  subject  is  a  stanch  Republican  and  lias  e\er  given  his 
party  faithful  support.  On  Alarch  i,  185J,  he  was  raised  a  blaster  Mason 
in  Dayton  Lodge,  No.  103,  and  is  now  a  past  master  of  that  body,  having 
filled  all  the  chairs.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Eastern  Star  chapter  at 
Dayton,  having  been  given  the  work  by  Robert  Alorris,  the  founder  of  the 
order,  Ijefore  a  chapter  had  been  organized  in  the  state  of  Indiana.  It  is 
now  thought  that  he  is  the  oldest  living  member  of  the  order  in  the  state. 


ALFRED  PAUL. 


Of  the  many  enterprising  citizens  that  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  has 
sent  to  Indiana,  and  particularly  Tippecanoe  county,  none  are  more  deserv- 
inq-  of  specific  nieiitioii   than    Alfred   Paul,   the   well-known   farmer   of   Perrv 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  805 

township,  owing  to  the  fact  that  his  hfe  has  been  exemplary  and  he  has 
done  his  fuH  share  in  upbuilding  the  community  where  he  chanced  to  settle. 
His  birth  occurred  in  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania,  February'  28,  1844,  the 
son  of  Reuben  Paul,  also  born  in  Lehigh  county,  the  old  Keystone  state,  the 
date  of  his  birth  being  October  5,  1812.  He  was  a  son  of  John  and  Hetty 
(Foust)  Paul,  also  natives  of  the  same  place — in  fact  the  Paul  family  were 
residents  of  Pennsylvania  for  many  generations.  There  Reuben  Paul  grew  up 
and  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  working  on  a  farm  during  the 
summer  months.  When  twenty  years  of  age  he  began  learning  the  black- 
smith's trade,  which  he  followed  for  twenty  years.  On  August  3,  1834,  he 
married  Levina  Haupt,  a  native  of  Allen  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  daughter 
of  George  and  Mary  Haupt,  who  were  residents  of  Lehigh  county,  White 
Hall  township.  Reuben  Paul  and  wife  lived  in  that  locality  until  1851, 
when  Mr.  Paul,  in  company  with  Charles  Moyer,  Irvin  Jones  and  Charles 
Miller,  came  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  making  the  journey  with  one 
team  which  drew  an  old-fashioned  wagon,  the  trip  requiring  three  weeks 
and  three  days.  Reuben  Paul  settled  in  section  26,  Perry  township,  on  an 
eighty-acre  tract,  of  which  fifty-five  acres  were  cleared  and  for  which  he 
paid  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  He  improved  it  and  built  a  fine  brick 
house  in  1859.  To  Reuben  Paul  and  wife  eleven  children  were  born: 
Thomas  F.,  a  carpenter  and  undertaker  at  Piermont,  Indiana;  Tilghman.  de- 
ceased; Susanna  married  James  Peterson,  of  Battle  Ground,  Indiana;  Mon- 
ford,  a  carpenter  at  Pettit,  this  county;  Alfred,  of  this  review;  Mary  Ann 
married  James  Wetzell,  of  Carroll  county,  this  state;  Sarah  married  William 
Roth,  of  Carroll  county;  Rebecca  is  the  widow  of  Thomas  Youndt  and  lives 
at  Mulberry,  Indiana;  Catherine  is  deceased;  Fremont  A.  is  deceased.  Four 
of  these  sons  were  soldiers  in  the  Union  army.  Thomas,  Monford  and 
Tilghman  enlisted  in  February,  1865,  in  Company  B,  One  Hundred  and 
Fiftieth  Regiment,  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry;  Alfred  enlisted  in  Novem- 
ber, 1864,  in  Battery  B,  Tenth  Artillery,  for  three  years.  Reuben  Paul 
and  wife  li\-ed  to  celebrate  their  golden  wedding  anniversary.  They  were 
members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Alfred  Paul  had  only  a  limited  schooling,  having  to  go  four  miles  to  a 
school  that  lasted  only  four  months  during  the  winter.  He  remained  at 
home  until  after  his  marriage,  which  occurred  April  i,  1871,  to  Mary  A. 
Brown,  a  native  of  Lehigh  county,  Pennsylvania,  the  daughter  of  Solomon 
and  Eliza  (Wodrint)  Brown,  both  natives  of  Lehigh  county.  In  1863  they 
came  to  Clinton  county,  Indiana,  and  settled  three  miles  south  of  Rossville. 
where  they  got  eighty  acres  of  wild  land,  which  he  cleared  and  improved  and 


8o6  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

on  which  they  both  died.  He  was  a  weaver  by  trade.  In  their  family  were 
fourteen  children,  six  of  whom  are  now  living;  Susan  L.,  at  Mulberry, 
Indiana;  William,  deceased;  Amanda  is  also  deceased;  Sarah,  of  Slatington, 
Pennsylvania;  Adeline,  deceased;  Joseph,  living  on  the  old  place  in  Carroll 
county,  Indiana;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  Alfred  Paul  of  this  review;  Emma, 
of  Mulberry,  Indiana;  Catherine,  of  Carroll  county;  the  rest  of  the  children 
died  in  infancy  or  early  youth. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alfred  Paul  two  children  were  born,  namely:  William 
Eugene  George,  born  December  24,  1871,  was  four  years  old  when  he  died; 
Alice  J.,  wife  of  Leander  Hedderick,  a  machinist  and  automobile  dealer  at 
Mulberry,  who  patented  the  Elgin  cream  separator.  He  and  his  wife  are  the 
parents  of  two  children,  Willie  Edison,  born  June  11,  1898,  and  M.  Murrel, 
born  February  2,  1901. 

After  his  marriage,  Alfred  Paul  resided  at  several  different  places  until 
1876,  when  he  bought  forty-one  acres  in  Perry  township,  where  he  has  since 
resided.  Mr.  Paul  has  been  successful  and  has  a  well-improved  farm.  He 
has  built  an  attractive  dwelling  and  a  good  barn,  has  devoted  his  life  to 
farming  and  is  fully  abreast  of  the  times. 

As  already  indicated,  Mr.  Paul  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war,  hav- 
ing enlisted  in  Company  B,  Tenth  Artillery,  on  November  4,  1864,  in  which 
he  served  three  years.  He  went  to  Indianapolis  and  from  there  to  Tennessee, 
Nashville  and  Chattanooga  on  a  United  States  gunboat,  the  "Stone  River," 
having  been  assigned  to  duty  on  this  boat  on  which  he  remained  until  the 
close  of  the  war,  being  discharged  on  July  10,  1865.  He  is  a  member  of 
Elliott  Post,  No.  160,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  at  Dayton.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Oxford  German  Reformed  church,  and  in  his  political  relations 
votes  the  Republican  ticket.  He  is  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  his  com- 
munity and  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  all. 


DANIEL  MILLS. 


From  humble  beginnings  Daniel  Mills  has  become  the  owner  of  a  fine 
farm  in  Perry  township.  Tippecanoe  county,  and  devotes  his  attention  to 
diversified  farming  with  the  discrimination,  energy  and  constant  watch- 
fulness which  inevitably  make  for  definite  success  and  prosperity.  His  birth 
occurred  in  Warren  coimty,  Ohio,  November  27,  1835,  the  son  of  Hamilton 
Mills,  of  the  same  county,  who  married  Sarah  Jones,  also  born  in  that 
county,  where  they  grew  to  maturity  and  married.     Hamilton  Mills  learned 


TIPPECANOE   COUNTY,    IND.  807 

the  blacksmith's  trade,  at  which  he  worked  in  connection  with  farming.  In 
1828  he  went  to  Logansport,  Indiana,  with  his  father-in-law  for  the  pur- 
pose of  buying  land  of  the  Indians,  but  they  did  not  succeed.  He  lived  at 
Athens,  Indiana,  for  about  a  year,  then  went  back  to  Ohio.  In  1838  he 
moved  to  Carroll  county,  Indiana,  where  he  farmed  and  worked  at  his  trade. 
He  died  in  that  county,  his  wife  dying  in  Delphi,  Indiana.  They  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  Mr.  Mills  was  a  Democrat. 
They  were  people  of  sterling  worth,  and  to  them  ten  children  were  born, 
named  as  follows  :  Simeon,  deceased ;  Nancy,  of  Hillsboro,  Ohio ;  Daniel,  of 
this  review:  Eunice,  Mary  and  Sarah,  all  deceased;  Lizzie,  of  Elwood, 
Indiana ;  Henrietta,  also  of  Elwood ;  the  two  youngest  children  died  in  infancy 
unnamed. 

Daniel  Mills  had  little  opportunity  to  attend  school;  however,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  learning  the  essentials  in  the  old  log  school  house  near  his  boy- 
hood home.  He  remained  on  the  old  home  place  where  he  became  inured 
to  the  life  of  a  husbandman  until  he  was  twenty-five  years  old,  when  he  started 
to  work  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  At  Camden,  Indiana,  on  October  7,  1865, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Caroline  Robison,  who  was  born  in  Perry 
township,  Tippecanoe  county,  August  26,  1843,  the  daughter  of  John  and 
Fannie  (Dye)  Robison,  the  former  a  native  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
latter  of  Ohio.  Mr.  Robison  first  married  in  his  native  state  and  had  one 
child  to  die  there.  John  Robison  was  a  manufacturer  of  woolen  goods.  In 
early  days  he  located  in  Ohio  near  Cincinnati,  and  in  1827  he  came  to 
Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  locating  in  Perry  township,  in  section  27.  He 
built  a  woolen  mill  which  was  run  by  water  power.  It  was  a  very  large 
mill  and  did  an  extensive  business.  He  prospered  at  this  and  became  the 
owner  of  one  thousand  acres  of  land.  He  continued  to  operate  this  mill  until 
1868,  wlien  he  retired.  His  death  occurred  in  1890  and  that  of  his  wife 
many  years  before,  in  1844.  He  married  a  third  time,  his  last  wife  being 
Barbara  Whiteman,  of  Perry  township,  who  died  in  1879.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  church  and  a  Republican,  but  never  aspired  to  public 
office.  For  many  years  he  was  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  this  county. 
The  following  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Robinson:  Pricilla, 
deceased;  Samuel,  deceased;  Henrietta;  Edward;  Drucilla,  deceased;  Caro- 
line, wife  of  Daniel  Mills,  of  this  review ;  the  youngest  child  died  in  infancy 
unnamed.  To  John  Robinson  and  his  third  wife  four  children  were  born, 
namely:  Erastus,  of  Dayton,  Indiana;  Wallace;  Bruce,  deceased;  Frances, 
widow  of  \\'allace  Patton,  who  lives  in  Perry  township. 


8o8  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

i"o  Air.  and  Mrs.  Daniel  Aiills  seven  children  have  been  born,  namely: 
Harry,  who  has  remained  single,  is  farming  in  Peri-y  township;  Etiwaru,  a 
farmer,  married  Olivia  Fretz,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  Ros- 
coe,  Harvey  and  Velma;  John,  a  farmer  in  Perry  township,  is  married  and 
has  four  children,  Aldine,  Laurine,  IMaurine  and  Bessie;  Sarah,  Daniel  ^Mills' 
fourth  child,  is  deceased ;  Albert  is  smgle  and  is  farming  in  Perry  township ; 
Samuel  H.,  a  barber  in  Frankfort,  Indiana,  married  Hattie  Roth ;  Earl,  who 
married  Emma  Roth,  is  also  working  at  the  larlisr  trade  in  Frankfurt.  Indi- 
ana, and  they  have  one  son,  Harold  James. 

After  his  marriage,  Daniel  Mills  and  wife  located  at  Camden,  Indiana, 
where  Mr.  Mills  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade  until  1887,  when  he  came  to 
Perry  tuwnshi]),  Tippecanoe  county,  and  located  in  section  22,  where  they 
still  reside.  In  1889  he  built  his  commodious  and  comfortable  dwelling,  and 
later  two  good  barns,  also  many  other  substantial  improvements  which  ranked 
his  place  with  the  best  in  the  township.  He  is  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-eight  acres  of  vahiable  land  which  is  well  improved.  So  well  did  he 
manage  his  farm,  that  he  was  enabled  to  retire  in  1908.  All  during  his  farm- 
ing career,  however,  he  found  time  to  continue  his  carpenter  work,  being  con- 
sidered an  excellent  workman,  and  many  of  the  best  houses  and  barns  in  this 
part  of  the  county  are  monuments  to  his  skill  as  a  builder.  He  and  his  good 
wife  are  members  of  the  church,  the  former  of  the  Presbyterian  and  the  latter 
of  the  United  Brethren.     Mr.   Mills  is  a  Democrat. 

Before  closing  this  review,  a  tribute  should  be  paid  to  the  military  chap- 
ter in  the  life  of  this  excellent  citizen,  for  on  July  25,  1862,  Mr.  Mills  tendered 
his  services  to  his  country,  enlisting  in  Company  A,  Seventy-second  Regiment 
Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  at  Camden.  He  went  to  Kentucky  and  J\Iis- 
sissippi,  and  was  a  member  of  the  famous  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  having 
participated  in  all  the  battles  and  skirmishes  of  his  regiment.  At  Huntsville, 
Alabama,  he  was  injured  Ijy  the  falling  of  a  horse,  and  was  discharged,  owing 
to  disability,  on  May  28,  1865.  He  made  a  very  creditable  record  while  at 
the  front. 


WILLIAM  J.  FISHER. 

Nothing  but  words  of  encomium  can  be  employed  in  the  biographical 
■memoir  dealing  with  the  well-remembered  gentleman  whose  name  appears 
above,  a  man  who  wp.s  long  one  of  the  patriotic  and  public-spirited  citizens  of 
Tippecanoe  countv  and  who  d.eserves  especial  credit  for  his  work  in  securing 


MH.   AND   MRS.   WILLIAM  J.   FISHER 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  SO9 

the  imposing  monument  that  marks  the  site  uf  the  great  battle  with  the  In- 
dians, Novcmljer  7.  1811,  tor  he  was  one  of  the  leaders,  if  not  the  very  first, 
in  starting  the  movement  which  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the  same. 

William  J.  Fisher  was  born  October  21,  1845,  in  Washington  township. 
He  was  the  son  of  Robert  and  Catherine  Ann  (Walters)  Fisher.  He  was 
always  a  studious  man  and  he  received  ai  good  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  the  Battle  Ground  Collegiate  Institute,  where  he  fitted  himself 
for  a  teacher,  which  profession  he  followed  four  years  with  pronounced 
success,  his  services  ha\'ing  been  in  great  demand.  In  later  life  he  ga\'e  up 
teaching  and  entered  agricultural  pursuits,  at  which  he  was  eciually  success- 
ful and  for  many  years  carried  on  general  farming  in  a  way  that  stamped 
him  as  one  of  the  modern  agriculturists  of  this  highly  favored  section  of 
the  great  commonwealth  of  Indiana.  He  became  the  one  owner  of  a  large 
and  valuable  farm  on  which  he  raised  conaiderable  fine  stock,  especially 
thoroughbred  cattle  and  hogs. 

Mr.  Fisher's  happy  domestic  life  dated  from  JNIay  29,  1890,  when  he 
married  Frances  Stretch,  of  Winfield,  Kansas,  where  the  family  of  which  she 
was  a  member  took  a^  prominent  part  in  public  affairs.  Her  father  was 
Jonathan  Stretch  and  her  mother's  maiden  name  was  Delila  Knight.  The 
father  was  born  in  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  November  7,  181 7,  and  he 
came  with  his  parents  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  in  1830.  He  and  Miss 
Knight  were  married  in  1849.  Delila  Knight  was  born  December  2.  182 1, 
in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  and  she  came  to  Carroll  county,  Indiana,  in  1828. 
Her  father  entered  land  one  mile  from  the  site  of  Delphi  and  lived  there  the 
remainder  of  his  life,  having  figured  prominently  in  the  history  of  the  county. 
Her  half  brother,  Thomas  Green,  was  prominent  in  political  circles  of  Car- 
roll county,  of  which  he  was  the  firstj  sheriff.  Jonathan  Stretch  came  to 
Tippecanoe  county  with  his  parents  in  1830.  There  were  five  children  in 
the  Stretch  family,  as  follows:  Flora,  wife  of  J.  M.  Sibbitt,  of  Hoopston, 
Illinois;  Jessie,  wife  of  P.  E.  Berry,  residing  in  California;  Ethel  C,  who 
died  in  1905;  Loui  died  in  Kansas;  and  Frances  S.,  who  became  the  wife  of 
the  subject  of  this  review. 

No  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fisher.  On  March  11,  1902, 
Wfilliam  J.  Fisher  was  called  to  his  reward,  after  a  well-spent,  active  and 
useful  life.  He  is  remembered  as  a  very  pronounced  enemy  of  the  liquor 
business,  having  always  taken  a  very  determined  stand  against  it.  He  was 
a  Republican  in  politics,  a  loyal  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  an  Odd  Fellow.  He  was  a  man  of  high  ideals,  and,  being  a  cultured 
man  and  of  afifable  address,  he  was  popular  with  all  classes. 


8lO  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

Mrs.  Fisher  was  reared  in  Carroll-  county  and  early  in  life  evinced  a 
deep  interest  in  educational  affairs.  Mrs.  Fisher  attended  the  country 
schools  and  later  took  several  years'  work  in  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Terre  Haute,  having  prepared  herself  for  a  teacher.  She  taught  very  suc- 
cessfully in  Carroll  and  Tippecanoe  counties,  later  being  called  to  Winfield, 
Kansas,  where  she  taught  in  the  high  school.  Her  services  were  always  in 
great  demand,  for  she  is  not  only  a  well-educated  woman  but  is  the  possessor 
of  the  many  other  natural  attributes  that  go  to  make  up  the  successful 
teacher.  She  is  still  greatly  interested  in  educational  work.  She  is  a  leading 
light  in  the  Baptist  church  at  Lafayette,  and  she  is  a  member  of  the  Rebekah 
lodge,  having  been  the  first  noble  grand  of  the  local  order  at  Battle  Ground. 
She  has  attended  every  session  of  the  grand  lodge  but  one.  She  is  very 
comfortably  located  in  her  nicely  furnished  home  at  Battle  Ground,  enjoying 
the  fruits  of  an  upright  and  well-spent  life,  being  highly  honored  and  es- 
teemed by  all  who  know  her. 


HENRY  ARNOLD  PARKER. 

THE  sire's  advice. 

While  lingers  yet  my  setting  sun, 

And  life's  last  sands  in  silence  fall, 

Ere  Death's  rude  hand  the  glass  shall  break. 
And  o'er  its  ruins  spread  the  pall. 

Deenes  of  earth,  my  children  come, 

A  father's  counsel  now  receive. 
Whose  fourscore  years  are  almost  run, 

And  soon  this  borrowed  dust  will  leave. 

Make  strong  the  ties  of  kindred  love, 
And  let  not  jealous  hate  destroy. 

May  each  to  each  a  blessing  prove — 
In  doubt  a  quid,  in  grief  a  joy. 

Parents,  with  care  your  trust  discharge. 
And  train  aright  the  immortal  young. 

And  ye,  their  children,  heed  their  word. 

That  on  the  earth  your  days  may  be  long. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  8ll 

Say  naught  nor  do  in  passion's  rage, 

But  speak  becalmed  and  from  the  soul. 

Swift  will  be  the  words  of  tattling  tongue, 
And  every  slanderous  thought  control. 

Waste  not  your  gains  with  lavish  hand, 

Nor  merit's  honest  praise  despise. 
Yet  bow  not  down  the  immortal  mind 

To  treasures  found  below  the  skies. 

Their  fancied  joys,  though  ever  seen. 

Sweet  in   the  future  luring  on. 
Yet  leave  their  surtoys  far  behind. 

Till  to  his  grave  unwelcome  gone. 

But  heavenward  turn  the  love-lit  eye. 

As  pointing  there  the  grateful  heart, 

And  lead  the  life  by  God  approved, 
From  birth  till  life's  rays  depart. 

And  when  your  course  is  nobly  run, 

And  yielding  from  this  mortal  clay 

The  final  breath  of  earthly  air. 

Breathes  all,  through  Christ,  of  Death  away. 

October  14,  1845.  — Jonas  Parker. 

Henry  Arnold  Parker  was  born  in  Lyons,  Wayne  county.  New  '^'ork, 
June  22,  1833.  He  is  one  of  the  highly  respected  citizens  of  Dayton,  Tippe- 
canoe county,  Indiana,  where  he  has  lived  all  his  life  excepting  eight  years 
spent  in  North  Dakota  and  sixteen  years  before  he  came  here.  In  his  daily 
life  among  and  intercourse  with  his  fellow  citizens  he  has  exhibited  those 
qualities  of  character  which  go  to  the  making  of  the  best  type  of  our  Ameri- 
can citizenship.  Though  not  now  actively  engaged  in  any  business,  he  has 
had  a  hand  in  the  development  of  this  section  of  the  state  and  has  always 
given  his  influence  and  support  to  every  movement  looking  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  highest  interests  of  the  entire  community. 

Mr.  Parker  is  descended  from  a  line  of  honored  ancestry,  of  which  the 
following  brief  genealogical  record  is  given : 

I.    "Deacon"  Jonas  Parker,  the  subject's  great-grandfather,  was  a  patriot 


8l2  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

soldier  in  tlie  war  of  the  Revolution  and  was  an  active  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.     He  married  Ehzabeth and  to  them  were  born  childrerb 

one  of  whom  was  Jonas  Parker. 

II.  Jonas  Parker,  also  known  as  "Deacon,"  was  born  at  Pepperill, 
Massachusetts,  July  i6,  1766,  and,  like  his  father,  was  an  active  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  On  December  18,  1788,  he  married  Ruth  Farmer, 
and  to  them  were  born  the  following  children : 

(i).  Hannah,  born  August  28,  1789,  married  Asa  Butrick  in  1808, 
and  their  children  were  Hannah  (August  19,  1808),  Charles  (June  12,  1813) 
and  Harriett  (August  7,  1815). 

(2).     Jonas,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  who  was  born  June 

30.1791- 

(3).  Edmund,  born  July  6.  1793,  married  Nancy  Hosley  in  1816.  and 
their  children  were  William  Appleton  (November  6,  1816),  William  Andrew 
(August  2(>,  iSiS),  John  Edward  (February  12,  1821)  and  Theodore 
Tirezvent   (January   11,    1825). 

(4).  John,  born  September  18,  1795.  married  ]\Iary  O.  Lawrence  in 
1822,  an.d  their  children  were  Caroline  W'illard  (October  2,  1823),  Alary 
Ehzabeth  (March  3,  1826),  Harriett  Marie  (March  13,  1828),  John  Loring 
(August  16,  1830),  Louisa  Frances  (August  22,  1832),  James  Henry  (De- 
cember 3,  1834),  Mary  Elizabeth  (October  21,  1837),  George  Odeon  (Feb- 
ruary g,  1840),  Sophronia  Lawrence  (February  18,  1842),  Charles  Oakes 
(October  18,  1844),  Edward  Lawrence  and  Frank  Lewis. 

(5).     Rebecca,    born 19,     1797,    married    Samuel    Farrer    in 

1819,  and  their  children  were  Edmond  (September  16,  1820),  William 
Prescott  (December  18,  1822),  Charles  Samuel  (August  7,  1825).  Mary 
Bullard  (November  12,  1830),  John  Nutting  (April  24,  1839)  and  Martha 
Ann  (September  2,  1840). 

(6).  Amelia,  born  November  21,  1799,  married  Arnold  Hutchinson 
in  1819,  and  their  children  were  Catherine  Amelia  (October  2,  1819),  Wil- 
liam Arnold  (September  12,  1821),  Jonas  (September  12,  1823),  Edmond 
(August  7,  1825),  John  Irving  (June  18,  1828),  Nancy  Elizabeth  (Sep- 
tember 22,  1830),  Samuel  Shipley  (February  27,  1833),  John  Bullard  (June 
27,  1835),  Henry  Irving  (February  8,  1838),  Francis  Rutheven  (June  6, 
1840),  George  Morton  (July  24,  1843)  'i"d  Charles  Delano  (October  18, 
1844). 

(7).  Lydia,  born  February  5,  1802,  became  the  wife  of  John  Loring 
in  1823.  and  their  children  were  James  Henry  (July  10,  1824),  Eliza  Parker 
(September  9,   1829)   and  Caroline  Lewis   (December  7,   1840). 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTYj    IND.  813 

(8).  I\Iary,  born  February  26,  1804,  married  Thomas  S.  Stevens  in 
1822,  and  their  children  were  jMary  Jane  (]\Iarch  17,  1823),  Edward  Spauld- 
ing  (February  14,  1825),  Ruth  Ehzabeth  (August  20,  1826)  and  Ehzabeth 
Ried  (August  23,  1839). 

(9).  EHza  Shedd,  born  June  16,  1806,  married  John  Ames  in  1835. 
and  they  had  the  following  children:  George  Henry  (October  i,  1836), 
Eliza  Shiply  (December  30,  1838),  Charles  Theodore  (February  22.  1841), 
Frank  Parker  and  Frank  Walda. 

(10).  Ruth,  born  August  18,  1808,  married  William  E.  Shiply  in 
1828. 

(u).  Xancy  P.,  born  January  12.  181 1,  became  the  wife  of  Jesse  Ried 
in  1832,  and  their  children  were  Elizabeth  Nancy  (July  4,  1833),  Arnold 
Hutchinson  (October  26,  1835'),  Josephine  Parker  (October  6,  1837),  Henry 
Alonzo  (November  J3,  1839),  Jesse  Hutchinson  (November  12,  1842)  and 
Jonas  Frederic. 

HI.  Jonas  Parker,  the  third  of  the  family  of  the  same  name  to  be 
commonly  known  as  "Deacon,"  who  was  born  June  30,  1791,  married  Nancy 
Gatchell  in  1814,  and  to  them  were  born  the  following  children  :  Charles 
Gatchell.  born  September  3,  1815,  died  November  3,  1888:  Nancy  Elizabeth, 
born  November  29,  1816;  Harrison,  born  February  25,  1818,  died  in  1836; 
Jonas  Farmer,  born  August  7,  1819,  died  February  9,  1909;  Harriet  Lewis, 
born  February  16,  1822.  died  May  9,  1896;  Abagail  Varnum,  born  June  18, 
1824;  Camelia  Drake,  born  August  16,  1830,  died  May  5,  1894;  Henrv 
Arnold,  born  June  22,  1833,  the  immediate  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Jonas  Parker,  the  father  of  these  children,  was  born  and  reared  near 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  received  what  education  could  be  obtained  in  the 
common  schools  of  that  day.  About  181 2  he  started  afoot  on  a  prospecting 
or  land-viewing  expedition  and  walked  to  \\'ayne  county.  New  York.  He 
selected  land  'near  Lyons,  and  in  1814  returned  to  [Massachusetts  and  was 
married,  bringing  his  young  bride  at  once  to  their  new  home.  Here  he  farmed 
successfully  until  1849,  in  October  of  which  year  he  embarked  witli  his  family 
by  boat  on  the  Erie  canal  to  Buffalo,  from  wiiere  they  proceeded  by  lake  to 
Toledo,  thence  by  canal  boat  to  Lafayette,  where  they  arrived  on  the  17th  of 
October.  Here  he  bought  and  developed  a  fine  farm  and  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  His  remains  now  lie  buried  in  Spring\-ale  cemetery.  LTis  wife 
is  also  deceased.  Jonas  Parker  was  by  trade  a  cooper  and  mason  and  fmuid 
frequent  use  for  his  knowledge  along  these  lines.  lie  was  a  faithful  and 
activ^e  member  of  the  Presbvterian  church,  as  was  also  his  wife. 


8l4  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

IV.  Henry  Arnold  Parker  spent  his  boyhood  days  on  the  parental  farm- 
stead, receiving  a  fair  education  in  the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood. 
In  1849,  when  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  accompanied  his  parents  on  their 
long  water  trip  to  Tippecanoe  county,  Indiana,  and  remained  with  them  here 
until  his  marriage  in  1859.  On  the  i8th  of  October  of  that  year  he  married 
Rosa  Alice  Lockwood,  and  lie  went  to  farming  on  his  own  account,  in  which 
he  was  successfully  engaged  until  1880,  when  he  moved  to  North  Dakota, 
where  he  also  followed  agricultural  pursuits  for  eight  years.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  feeling  that  he  was  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  retire  from  active 
labor,  he  sold  out  and  returned  to  Indiana,  locating  at  Davton,  where  he 
erected  a  comfortable  home  and  has  since  resided. 

In  2\Iarch,  1865,  Mr.  Parker  enlisted  in  Company  C,  Seventv-second 
Regiment  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  under  Captain  Frazer.  Pie  rendered 
faithful  service  while  in  the  field  and  was  honorably  discharged  in  September, 
1S65,  and  subsequently  mustered  out  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  Because  of 
his  military  service,  he  now  holds  membership  in  John  A.  Logan  Post,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  at  Lafayette.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  while 
a  resident  of  Shelby  township  served  efficiently  as  township  trustee. 

To  Henry  and  Rosa  Parker  were  born  the  following  child-.-en :  Harry 
L.,  born  September  23,  i860,  met  his  death  by  drowning  on  September  26, 
1868;  Charles  G.,  born  December  i,  1862,  resides  at  Joplin,  Missouri;  Rose 
and  Jonas,  twins,  born  January  4.  1866,  both  died  in  infancy;  Rose  Agnes, 
born  July  15,  1868,  lives  at  Terre  Haute,  Indiana:  James  AHjert,  born  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1873,  'i^'^s  at  Thorntown,  Indiana;  Rufus  L.,  l)orn  January  31. 
1875.  Mrs.  Rosa  Parker  died,  and  on  May  4,  1884.  in  North  Dakota,  Mr. 
Parker  wedded  Catherine  Campbell,  who  was  born  in  the  Dominion  of  Can- 
ada on  February  8,  1859,  the  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Switzer) 
Campbell.  Her  parents  were  natives  of  Scotland  and  Canada  respectively, 
and  the  father  is  now  deceased.  The  mother  lives  in  Jamestown.  North 
Dakota.  To  Henry  A.  and  Catherine  Parker  ha\-e  l^een  l)oni  fnur  children, 
namely:  Murray  A.,  born  July  2z,,  1888,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana;  Francis 
B.,  born  December  25,  1889,  also  of  Indianapolis:  Julia  L,,  b;  rn  February 
27.  1892,  at  home;  Madeline  L..  born  July  2~.  1894,  also  at  home.  r\Irs, 
Parker  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  the  activities  of  which  she 
takes  a  deep  interest. 

Mr.  Parker,  though  advanced  in  years,  takes  a  deep  iiUerest  in  the  pass- 
ing events  of  the  day  and  is  considered  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Davton, 
where  he  is  now  living  in  comparative  ease. 


TIPPECANOE    COUNTY,    IND.  815 


JOHN  P.  GAGEN. 

There  is  much  incentive  m  studying  the  Hfe  history  of  such  a  man  as 
John  P.  Gagen,  who,  by  his  own  indomitahle  courage  and  energy,  finally 
rose  above  early  environments  that  were  none  too  favorable,  surmounting 
every  obstacle  he  encountered  in  his  pathway  until  he  attained  a  position  of 
eminence  in  the  business  circles  of  the  city  of  Lafayette,  Indiana,  second  to 
none  of  his  contemporaries.  He  belonged  to  that  large  class  of  industrious 
Arnerican-born  citizens  of  foreign  parentage,  his  parents,  Patrick  and  Mary 
Gagen.  having  emigrated  to  America  from  Ireland,  where  they  were  born  and 
where  their  childhood  was  spent.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children,  but 
the  mother  was  called  to  her  rest  ere  they  grew  to  maturity  and  the  father 
married  a  second  time,  adding  eight  children  to  his  already  large  family,  the 
combined  number  of  children  being  eighteen.  However,  he  was  a  hard 
worker  and  a  good  manager  and  provided  well  for  them,  giving  them  com- 
mon school  educations  and  living  to  see  them  fairly  well  started  in  the  battle 
of  life.  He  was  a  man  of  honorable  character  and  inculcated  in  his  children 
those  principles  that  make  for  true  manhood  and  womanhood,  the  glory  of 
our  strong  American  citizenship  of  which  we  are  justly  wont  to  boast. 

J'  hn  P.  Gagen  was  born  in  Sandusky.  Ohio,  December  13,  1848.  He 
received  his  early  mental  training  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  city. 
laying  a  good  foundation  for  the  broad  knowledge  he  in  after  years  acquired 
by  habits  of  observation  and  promiscuous  reading.  He  started  to  do  for 
himself  early  in  life,  and  soon  gave  evidence  of  a  successful  future,  one  not 
only  replete  with  success,  but  honor  also. 

Upon  reaching  maturity.  John  P.  Gagen  chose  a  life  partner  in  the  per- 
son of  a  very  amiable  and  worthy  representative  of  an  old  and  well-estab- 
lished family,  Adaline  Greene,  a  native  of  Lafayette.  Indiana,  having  been 
born  there  in  November,  1846.  The  wedding  which  marked  the  beginning 
of  a  mutually  happy  domestic  life  was  solemnized  on  April  18,  t86q.  Airs. 
Gagen's  father  came  from  Ohio  and  her  mother  from  W'isconsin  in  an  earlv 
day,  settling  in  Tippecanoe  county,  where  they  established  a  good  home  amid 
primitive  conditions.  Joshua  D.  Greene,  the  father,  was  by  occupation  a 
carpenter,  and  his  services  were  in  great  demand  in  his  vicinity  for  many 
years,  for  he  was  a  very  skilled  builder.  Later  in  life  he  became  a  grocer, 
finally  a  general  business  man  in  Lafayette,  where  he  met  with  success  at 
whatever  he  turned  his  attention  to,  becoming  well-known  here  in  his  dav  as 
a  progressive  and  public-spirited   man   of  affairs,   taking  a   prominent   part 


8l6  PAST    AND    PRESENT 

in  the  affairs  of  the  city  in  which  he  manifested  a  deep  and  abiding  interest 
for  many  years,  and  in  no  small  measure  augmented  its  general  develop- 
ment. 

To  John  P.  and  Adaline  Gagen  eight  children  were  born,  nf  whom  only 
two  daughters  are  now  living,  namely:  Emma  F.,  who  was  born  in  Tippe- 
canoe county,  January  31,  1878,  married  Patrick  Joseph  Iveefe,  who  is  en- 
gaged